《Wizard Master, Apprentice Warrior》 Volume One Chapter 1: The Dojo Masters Daughter The Dojo Master¡¯s Daughter (Wilhelm Dragonsong) She was the dojo master''s daughter. Surprisingly tall for a woman, she was only a couple inches shorter than my towering scarecrow frame. Completely unlike my fragile stick thinness, she possessed not only muscle but curves and softness in all the right places. She had beautiful pale skin, pearl in color, and like a waterfall splashing down her back was silken black hair. It was hard to see her eye color from such a distance, but I knew from all the rumors I was forced to listen to when I researched this dojo that her eyes were the unique and rarely seen; violet purple. Fascinating as her looks were, to any male myself not quite being the exception. What was more important to consider was her skills. She was quite skilled in both the sword and martial arts taught in the dojo, and her name was usually found in the top ten participants of any purely warrior tournament you read about. But if you managed to have a conversation with her, it seems you would soon surprisingly realize that she mostly lacked pride or arrogance of any kind and was generally an enjoyable person to talk too. However having a conversation with her is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, she was usually busy training herself or other people, this went on for such long durations it almost seemed that she was busy 24/7. Second of all there were many barriers to talk to her during her rare breaks or ¡°free time¡±, most of those obstacles were the disciples themselves that trained underneath her. She was quite a beautiful female and was one of the main reasons her father¡¯s dojo hadn¡¯t gone bankrupt, This was despite the fact that since the war ended only a few years ago and because there had been a very swift transition into peacetime there were a lot less people wanting to become warriors, especially since the so called ¡°hero¡± of the last few war winning battles, had been well known to be a wizard. It was a well-known fact that all of the disciples looked upon her, as at the very least a cherished younger sister, and towards the other end of the spectrum she was their worshiped and beloved idol. So as you can easily imagine these obsessed disciples did not tolerate those of lower rank in the dojo talking to her let alone outsiders. But talk to her I must! In order to enter the dojo while maintaining my anonymity, I had to go through official channels to gain membership. The Master only personally accepted disciples if they were of high level in the sword and or martial arts, (even better if both) or came specifically recommended by one of his friends. Because I was an absolute beginner (less than apprentice level) in the art of swords or fists and I had (for many various hidden reasons) nothing to recommend me to him, the only way I would be able to be allowed to learn at this dojo in an official student capacity, (and kept to my plan of not reveling my identity to everyone) was if the Vice Master of the dojo, the dojo masters daughter herself, were to give me the required permission. After careful observation during the past few weeks from the public access opened part of the dojo, as well as using a few of my own tricks. I had managed to memorize the schedule of the higher ranking students as well as most of (more importantly) her schedule. Luckily for me it seemed that the majority of the disciples of the dojo were very regular and usually liked to stick to their schedule. So I was eventually able to time things just right and quickly walk up to her in that one rare moment when she wasn¡¯t surrounded by others. As soon as I made sure I had caught her attention I preformed a low bow to the ground and stated the humble traditional words: ¡°This lowly one wishes to join this great school of wisdom.¡± As expected I heard the sound of a small snicker, from what I have heard from rumors and seen some of which myself, the Vice Master has never been one for tradition, (I think this comes from being a female warrior in a mostly males world) but what can I say? I am not only a male raised in a very traditional environment, I am also much older then I look and am thus more "old school" then most people. ¡°Well¡­¡± just when the Vice started to answer there was a series of bangs as several higher ranked students slid into the wall in their rush to enter the room. ¡°Vice Master!¡± ¡°Teacher!¡± they calmed down a bit when they saw their beloved was unharmed, but seeing my humble appearance they all looked at me in disgust. ¡°Sorry teacher for not being here in time to stop this trash¡± said one burly guy built like a tank ¡°Don¡¯t worry teacher we will remove him from your presence immediately¡± Said another this one deceptively wiry and slim Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Despite the threats I continued to maintain my position on the floor and wait patiently for what the Vice Master had to say. ¡°Wait, this guy just said something interesting, hey you on the floor could you please repeat what you just said?¡± her voice was strained for some reason ¡°This lowly one wishes to join this great school of wisdom.¡± I obediently reinstated. ¡°Ha ha hah!¡± she burst out and chortled with amusement¡­revealing that reason for her strained voice was that she had been trying to hold back her laughter ¡±It is just as funny as the first time I heard it.¡± ¡°Wahhaha!¡± ¡°Heh heh¡± ¡°Ho haw ha¡± The other students immediately began to mock me with their laughter thinking that she was insulting and refusing me, but I thought that I had a better grasp of her personality then they did. So I said nothing in the face of this humor at my own expense and waited patiently. ¡°Using such an outdated method to ask for admission¡­it is just as funny as the first time!¡± she snickered a bit more then said ¡°Alright I give permission for you to join... what did you call it? Oh yes, this ¡®great school of wisdom.¡¯¡± I sat up in order to see her face, it was blank mask revealing nothing. Seeing that she had gotten my attention, her beauty became slightly less doll like as she said; ¡°You can start as soon as you pay the 100 gold membership fee. ¡° She held out her hand in expectation. Immediately the other students started to smirk. My clothing deceivingly looked to be made out of cheap materials, and she had asked a higher price then what would usually be asked, only 10 gold was the norm. However this was well within my expectations, as most disciples would be accepted or chosen after seeing their skills in a school tournament or dojo challenge. Their actions during either would reveal and showcase their skills and more importantly their physical fitness, most students earned credit that way. Others would be chosen because they were introduced by a current or prior student. Either way essentially they were receiving an invisible discount because of their potential or connections. As mentioned before, I had neither. I had zero skills, at least when speaking of ones that have to with a mostly purely physical nature, and as for my body''s fitness was concerned I was basically a twiggy, frail scarecrow in shape. I had little to no visible muscles and more importantly I looked weak. So basically to me, if I had to worry about money she was kindness itself for just asking for a mere fee of one hundred gold. ¡°Thank you greatly for the opportunity Vice Master!¡± I grinned widely and stuck my hand in the depths of the training robes I was wearing and took out the small leather purse I carried with me for appearances sake. Theoretically if I had been poor I could have requested that I pay the amount through a trade of physical labor and essentially I would have to take on the chores that none of the other students wanted to do. However the whole point of me going through this trouble was to learn how to fight with my body, and doing chores would take up too much of the time that I would spend training. I felt that having more training time was more advantageous then revealing the truth that I had money. Especially since it didn¡¯t reveal the fact that I had more money then I knew what to do with, just that I had at least 100 gold. I reached my hand into the small leather purse I had for appearances sake and summoned to me from my own personal treasury 100 gold coins. Needless to say, this amount to me was actually fairly small and it didn¡¯t even make a visible dent in the piles of gold I had stacked up inside my treasury. I happily handed the gold to her. All the other students frowned when they saw this but the Vice Master just looked surprised but happy. ¡°So you are prepared then? That¡¯s good, though I myself am somewhat disappointed that I won¡¯t have a chore boy to boss around, my father will be much happier to have the gold. Thank you.¡± As she was putting the gold I gave her into her pocket, she noticed that the other students there were giving me glares, as in: ¡®you will be dead soon¡¯ looks. Seeing their anger towards me she gave the other students a dark look of some sort, I couldn''t see and they immediately became contrite, and made ¡®we¡¯ll behave¡¯ faces. Satisfied I wouldn¡¯t be beaten to a pulp on my first day she turned to me and said. ¡°Well the first thing we are going to work on is getting you in shape while installing into you the basics. I want you to run laps around the dojo 100 times, when you come back I will give you more instructions now go!¡± I immediately turned around and started to run, with what is sure an idiotic grin on my face¡­finally, after so long, I can finally start on the path of following my childhood dream!
*** Vocabulary: Dojo: a school, were one can be trained and train in various martial arts and weapon wielding styles in order to officially become a warrior Warrior: one who uses their body to fight, in order to be official one must learn from a tutor or dojo martial arts and or weapon fighting styles Volume One Chapter 2: Improvement Improvement (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Months passed and I was starting to show some results¡­I was no longer as stick thin as I used to be I had a little bit of muscle on my arms, legs and in other places which pleased me no end. I was also starting to get the hang of the various basic stances and movements they had started to teach me in martial arts and the sword. Today I had just finished the various exercises I had been required to do, then breathing heavily (though nowhere near as badly as when I first started) I grabbed my cheap training sword and started to hit a sword target in various ways, and as close to what I was taught as was possible for me. Suddenly I heard some clapping. I turned around and blushed when I realized it was the Vice Master herself. That¡¯s rare I thought, as I realized she had come alone without any of her usual entourage. I blushed slightly when I realized this as I was feeling slightly shy. Since I usually trained solo to begin with, we were completely alone. ¡°Good job, not only have you gotten the basics down much faster than I expected, for someone with no prior experience to do. You also do it without any complaints or giving up once. You really impressed me.¡± Hearing this I blushed even more. ¡°Thank you for the compliment, but it is your guidance that has really helped me in my practices, so it is yourself you should be impressed with, you are a really good teacher.¡± It was her turn to blush and she didn¡¯t disappoint, her face was now beat red. Feeling a minor sense of accomplishment I kept my inner smile to myself, and took up an attentive position and faced her. Soon recovering from my flattery she then said. ¡°We-Well the reason I came here wasn¡¯t for compliments but to tell you that I think, and more importantly my father agrees, that you are now ready for the next stage of your training. That is practice in actual combat. With your permission as a small test, I will spar with you, don¡¯t worry I will go easy, this is only to see how you stand currently in your training, and to better understand what would be best help in training you in the future.¡± At my nod she lifted up the spare training sword she carried with her and after we both bowed, she rushed me. To her surprise I was somehow able to lift my sword up in time for me to block her¡­but it was soon revealed that it was somewhat of a fluke. Although with my battle experiences I was able to keep track of her movements¡­my body was far too weak and slow to follow them. However just as she said, she used far from her full speed, and used only light taps when she ¡°attacked¡± me. She would speed up, and slow down while trying all of the different basic stances they had taught me. She also didn¡¯t use a single move above apprentice level in skill, even so it was obvious to my discerning eyes that she was far above average at her real level. After a few minutes of this, exertion my low stamina came into play, I started breathing harder and my blocks and attack attempts became more and more weak. Despite this I continued to ¡°fight¡± and tried to prolong my ability to continue by using moves that used the least amount of energy as possible. Finally after almost half an hour, she stopped, and I collapsed on the floor gratefully. Unlike me she wasn¡¯t even breaking a sweat, as I sat there limbs spread out clumsily and panting deeply she gave me a very strange sort of look. ¡°So¡± I said somewhat jokingly after I had caught my breath somewhat ¡°how did I do?¡± she raised one of her perfect eyebrows at my question and replied ¡°Well I can say with honesty ¡®not bad¡¯ you are definitely ready for the next stage of training however¡­¡± I waited patiently for her to continue curious as the reason for the strange look on her face. ¡°It¡¯s just that, unusually it seems like you have more battle experience then what your ability shows, but as it is impossible to gain such battle experience at your current level it is strange¡­I think that perhaps you may be an instinctive fighter¡­or you have natural battle instincts. You are lucky either are rare and good things, if you are serious in wanting to become a warrior¡±. Natural battle instincts? I am lucky? I wonder what she would say if I told her the truth. That I do have a lot of battle experience, just not as a ¡°warrior¡±. However after thinking about what she said, I have become somewhat happier, I had thought that all my prior battle experience wouldn¡¯t be of much use, as a warrior is something far different then what I was/ But now after hearing what she said and really thinking about it, I am filled with a sense of contentment. Perhaps my past won''t hinder me in following my dream as I feared but actually be an advantage instead. I soon come to the happy thought, that perhaps it is not just these battle instincts that I can transform and use to help me new skills I am learning now. ¡°Well¡± she suddenly interrupts my thoughts ¡°Now that it is settled that you are ready for the next stage you are definitely going to need a better training weapon.¡± She looked disdainfully at my ¡°sword¡±. I don¡¯t exactly disagree with her assessment, my ''sword'' is just a cheap stick that had been carved vaguely in the shape of a sword. I had bought it in the marketplace nearby by going to a general purpose merchant and asking for their cheapest practice sword. This had been about after my first month of training when she had decided I was now strong enough to start training with a sword and asked me to find one. Normally a poor student would ask one of his peers to either lend him one of his backup swords or some money. However for some reason the Vice Master had taken an unusual interest in me and had taken the time to train me personally. I think the reason, has probably something to do with my many differences compared to the other students. Appearance wise I look fragile in such a way that in my experience tends to have the effect of making women want to take care of me. Since I don''t seem to be obsessed with her beauty, and don''t go and try to force my way into her presence, if she wants to talk to me she has to come and find me. This is probably refreshingly unique, compared to the other students who are constantly fighting over who gets to train with her. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. More importantly my attitude is much better the other students. Compared to their lazy and complacent schedules, and their tendency to neglect their practice in order to have fun. I had a much stronger than usual work ethic. Was rigidly obedient to the work schedule they give me, and most importantly, unlike the other students who usually stop training as soon as they reach a level they consider a "strong" then barely maintain their battle levels unless there is going to be a contest. I despite being so weak in the beginning, have made great improvements, even though I am still fairly weaker than most of the students in the dojo, I have shown consistent steady improvements. I know from my own personal experience in teaching that it is very gratifying to teach someone to continue to show improvements and grows in knowledge. So I am not that surprised that she took an interest in teaching me. However to most of the other students, who didn''t pay attention to what I am doing, and who usually despite numerous attempts didn¡¯t even manage to get even a small word of advice from her, the interest she shows in me appears completely unnatural, and they were utterly jealous and fiercely envious. Thus I knew I would get nothing but hatred from that source. Mostly because I didn¡¯t want to attract attention but also because I didn¡¯t want to waste something nice on a noob even if that beginner is myself. When picking my first practice sword I decided to just go with the cheapest. Fortunately for me my weak strength had become an advantage when I started to train with my sword. If I had been strong it would have immediately broken after one use, but since I was weak even after a few months of constant use it was still mostly intact. Looking at my battered stick (as I like to call it) I grimaced. Probably mistaking my facial expression as pain at my lack of money, the Vice Master was quick to say. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the money, my father has given me permission to use 250 gold from the dojo¡¯s funds in providing you with a weapon. In fact if you think you can handle it after the spar we just had, I was planning to take you to the market today.¡± As I have explained to you before, having potential means having more benefits, so practically being given a sword by the dojo rather than having to buy my own must mean that they have reassessed my potential and decided to give me benefits in proportion to this ¡°increase¡±. This makes me quite happy, and as it is appropriate to the situation I allow my happiness to be shown on my face. ¡°Of course I can handle it, the thought of getting a new sword is giving me lots of new energy!¡± I get to my feet without that much trouble, I sway a bit from exhaustion but I am not that bad off, so after a few seconds of instability I am able regain my balance. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± I smile at her. *** The dojo is located on the outskirts of a small city. This city called Nern is a city that has been somewhat famous for its dojos and the warriors it produces. The city is located quite far away from the capital and has an extremely low mage population. I had originally chosen this city partly because of these features, but also somewhat because Nern is located near several large monster territories, where it would be perfect to practice what I would eventually learn. Since the war is over, there is no longer an obvious place to prove your skills in battle as well as gain more experience. However monster territories are the exception. Since when monster population increases past a certain point they tend to leave their territory and attack human civilizations in an attempt to increase it,. So my eventual future practice is a good thing, sort of like preforming a public service. In fact from what I can sense from here. Many people, advanced in warrior skills are already having fun there right now. I bring my attention back to the here and now, when the Vice Master pokes my cheek. ¡°No need to have a serious face, smile! You should be having fun, from what I have seen, hasn¡¯t it been a long time since you have left the dojo for anything other than food? I know! Let me buy you a meal before we go to the weapons shop maybe that will clear up your dullness.¡± laughing happily she grabs my arm and pulls me towards one of the many nearby food stalls. She hands over some copper, and gets several meat on a stick, then returning to, she stuffs one in her mouth surprisingly inelegantly and hands me the other. I take one with gratitude and slowly take several small bites to make it last longer¡­while she has already finished hers and is already dragging me to look at something else. This time surprisingly it is an accessory merchant, as I have never seen her wear so much as even a hair tie I am a bit stunned to see her look longingly at a small jeweled hair pin before moving on. Well I guess I now know what I should get her if I ever need to get her a present, I think as I observe her drool over several other pretty things at various stalls. One particular merchant reminds her of our purpose in coming here when he recognizes and greets her as ¡°Lady Swordarm¡±. Panicking at the sound of her own name when it makes her realize her own unusually unproductive actions, she immediately starts dragging me in more specific directions. Eventually we reach the shop she intended us to go to.
Vocabulary: Monsters: Various magical non human creatures that are powerful and dangerous to most people. Most are like animals and have no soul and Warriors (and the occasional battlemage) use them to practice their combat skills. Volume One Chapter 3: Sword Shopping Sword Shopping (Wilhelm Dragonsong) The shop¡¯s appearance isn¡¯t fancy but neither is it shabby it is in a fairly good location between the solider resident¡¯s district and a district full of dojos. Inside there are many weapons covering the walls, on shelves and even piled up on tables and sticking out of barrels. The cheapest and of lowest quality are the ones closest to the entrance¡­the closer to the counter and the back room behind it the more expensive the weapon will probably be. This makes sense from a practical standpoint as thieves tend to prefer to steal things that are close to an exit. A large burly old man is standing behind the counter with a bored look on his face¡­that immediately changes into a large smile when he sees the Vice Master. I immediately peg him as a semi-retired blacksmith. ¡°Ah Lady Swordarm, nice to see you, what brings you to my shop on this fine day¡± he completely ignores me but I don¡¯t really mind¡­however as I was more paying attention to him and not what I was doing, I almost trip on the edge of a barrel as I walked in. I did manage to stop myself from stumbling or falling but it was enough of a distraction that my self-restriction slipped and suddenly every, and any magic thing in the room to my eyes glows, and at the same time am nearly overwhelmed by sensing them as well as the presence of others. I quickly regain my control¡­but find I have missed part of the Vice Masters reply because of the distraction of my situation. ¡°¡­so we want a training sword¡­preferably somewhat light but it must also be very sturdy and high durability I want it to last for at least a few years.¡± She is leaning against the counter looking at the store guy with some friendly familiarity. ¡°I see¡± the guy turns his attention to me. He steps out from behind the counter and circles me several times measuring me with his eyes. Somewhat uncomfortable I nervously shift my feet. ¡°Hmm he is not that bad is he? But he isn¡¯t that good either¡­.¡±after sharing a look with the Vice Master he turns back to me. ¡°Young man, if you are not too proud I would recommend that you look at the weapons that I make intended for the taller children and women¡­they would have the best traits for you. Another advantage is that they are cheaper than some of the others and with my discount¡± he winks at her ¡°you should be able to easily afford it with 250 gold¡±. I shrug at this, (while being slightly amused that I am called young man by someone probably younger than me) I don¡¯t really care about things like that¡­actually with the way am now physically even most children and the average women (the Vice Master is an exception there are few woman warriors and most are weaker than men) are much stronger than me. ¡°I will accept whatever weapon you think suits me best¡­and even if that weapon was meant for a child as long as it works as well or better than as one intended for an adult, it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± The store man grins at my words and the Vice Master nods to herself looking happy as well. ¡°Then let¡¯s find you that sword¡± the man grins and gestures for us to follow him into the back room. Due to many services to various countries and kingdoms as well as some say the world, I have been gifted or paid with quite a lot of money. I have also gone on various unofficial and unsanctioned adventures, and dungeon spelunking and found a quite a bit of items and money through that avenue. My wealth is many times the amount of an average dragons hoard. (In fact I have killed several dragons and taken their hoards), so you can see how it would be easy for me to buy the most expensive weapon in this shop. In fact, if that old guy would be willing to sell, I could buy the entire shop and its contents with my wealth alone. (If I told him who I was he would probably most likely be willing to just give them to me) If I chose to I could go to the best weapon smiths of this world and commission the greatest of swords. However what I am most proud of has nothing to do with my wealth. Rather it has to do with my skill. Even though I greatly lack in strength, using my magic I can craft high quality weapons. I had spent years observing various blacksmiths, carvers and weapon-smiths and experimented with using my magic to mimic what they did with their bodies. Eventually because I was using my magic and not my actual body like them, my skills in creating weapons went beyond theirs. In fact if I enchant the materials used during and after the crafting projects I have discovered that I can even get the quality up to legendary. What I am saying is that I could easily get or even make a sword worth much more than 250 gold. However I am the type of person to value intentions over actualities, so I knew I would have to use the budget wisely and carefully not only getting the best sword for the least amount possible (in order to save the school some money) but also getting the best sword for the training level and strength I am right now. Even though it has been several hours since we have started looking over swords, strangely neither the Vice Master nor the blacksmith are angry with me. In fact they seem a bit impressed. In the past when I worked as a professor at the magic school I had gone too, I had once accompanied the students on a shopping trip and got caught up in getting the best item I could at a certain store. All of the students and even the other chaperone had complained excessively that I was taking too much time. Making me wonder if it is really such bad thing to be picky? The two I was consulting didn¡¯t seem to think so. The store owner had started off with a fancy looking metal blade that looked fairly sharp. ¡°This blade was commissioned by a noble¡¯s son, it is not actually a training sword but a real and actual blade that has been enchanted to do no cutting or piercing damage as well as to remain clean and durable. I was told that it is imprinted with an anti-theft spell that works by binding it to you with blood. There are also some spells on it that greatly decrease the real weight so I thought it would be a good thing to consider.¡± Frowning slightly the Vice Master studies the blade then raising a single eyebrow she looks at me. So I get to have input, I think happily then after a short reflection I reply. ¡°I am just a beginner in the path of the sword, so I am thinking that I would prefer my training sword to be an actual training sword. Also it is absolutely unnecessary for my blade to be enchanted, actually for personal preferences I would like my sword to not have any magic at all, except maybe natural magic as a result if special materials are used.¡± What I left out was the fact that my magic was so powerful any enchantment done except my own, on items I used frequently would probably be worn away by it over time. Also I have heard horror stories that sound very believable. Stories in which a dullness spell suddenly wears off and the wielder ends up unintentionally killing someone. Besides the potential unreliability, is the fact that any spell done to the sword, I could probably do better. Besides, I didn¡¯t want to use magic at all if I could help it, in order to get the full warrior training experience. I looked back at Vice Master and was glad to see her smiling in approval, the store owner however was frowning slightly. I guessed that the sword was one of the more expensive ones and he was slightly disappointed because of that. He quickly got over it and pulled out a slightly glowing blade made out of silver looking wood. ¡°This blade is an elf sung blade, made out of unicorn willow, it is sung to be almost as hard as steel and it is fairly light as well, but has no active magic properties, it suits you perfectly.¡± he smiled at me indicating that he had paid attention to what I said. I in fact actually had a lot of knowledge about elf sung weapons, like me elves tend to have less physical strength and vitality then humans which is why most elf made weapons are fairly light. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Actually part of the reason I am such a tall thin person and slightly more than half the reason why I have maintained my youthful appearance when I gained talent in magic, despite the passing years, while at the same time there are many pure human wizards only slightly younger who look like old men despite their lengthened lifespans, is because I have some elf blood in me. I replied easily and respectfully. ¡°This is indeed a nice sword but I sincerely doubt, good sir, that the price is 250 gold or less.¡± The store owner had a guilty look flash across his face which the Vice Master saw and immediately started to chide him about. After that he stopped trying to get more money out of and brought out all the swords whose price were within 250 gold. The majority of them were made of wood, but there were several metal that were designed to have no sharp edges¡­I refused the metal ones because I disliked using metal at all, unless I had enchanted it, as metal was basically painting a target on your back for lighting magic users and beasts. I then allowed myself to sense magic, this timed under carefully controlled circumstances and rejected all the swords with enchantments or spells I then turned to the Vice Master and the store owner and said. ¡°Vice Master, good sir, I have no experience in picking out swords¡­for my own use at least, what do you recommend I do next?¡± The Vice Master grinned and said ¡°Well first its best to hold the sword in your hand see if the hilt is easy to hold and feels good in your hand. Then you should look at the weight, I recommend that you get a sword that is at least five times as heavy as what you are used to using. Finally you should swing it a couple of times to see if the length and balance feels good to you. Keep in mind that these swords are much different than your old ¡°stick¡± so some unfamiliarity is expected and is probably a good thing. Most importantly don¡¯t worry about making the wrong choice, practice can overcome almost any minor fault and we can always come back if the sword turns to be truly defective.¡± On the last sentence she gave a threatening look at the shop owner who nervously cleared his throat before speaking. ¡°A good thing to keep in mind when buying a weapon is, what is it made out of? You have already rejected the swords with metal which is good in a way because they contain many exceptions to the rule which is in general for all materials, the harder something is the less durable it is but it gives more damage, at the same time the more durable something is the more heavy it weighs.¡± He nods at me. I proceed to first test out Vice Masters advice which eliminates over half of the weapons because they don¡¯t feel ¡°good¡± to wield. I also decide to take his advice and eliminate all the weapons that are made up as the same type of wood as stick or of wood that is only a little better. A few more choices to narrow things down further, and I am now left with three options. One of the options is much higher quality then stick but is still a fairy cheap training sword. The other two both on first glance look similar in type and fairly pricy as they are made up of what looks like exotic wood. But upon closer look I realize something interesting, about one of them and I begin to laugh. I pick it up and wave it a few times to make sure that I feel it could suit me. It is way heavier than my ''stick'' but despite my meager strength I am still able to wield it, abet clumsily and I am sure with enough practice I will be able to get used to the weight easily. ¡°How much is this sword?¡± I ask. The owner grins in delight seeing what I have chosen and says ¡±normally I would sell it for 500 gold but for you guys I will sell it for 300 gold.¡± Hearing the price Vice Master hesitates but looks like she would pay for it, if ask. After slightly shaking my head at her in reply, I turn to the owner and start to haggle. ¡°That is too expensive a price. Look this sword is made out of ironwood. True not too long ago it would be considered an expensive material but since the end of the war it has become very common as the places were ironwood grows best are old empty battle grounds of which there are now plenty. Besides many of the armies that used this as their primary weapon material and jacked up the prices no longer exist and most of the soldiers that were in them have retired and no longer need their weapons¡­thus I will offer a price of 100 gold.¡± The owner gets somewhat angry and says ¡°Despite what you say being the truth, iron wood can be used in many ways besides weapons so the value hasn¡¯t gone down that much! 260 gold is my counter offer.¡± I smirk at him knowing I now have him where I want him. ¡°The many ways you speak of have many alternatives, metal is more easy to craft then iron wood is¡± he grits his teeth then thinking of something smiles ¡°Just as you say iron wood is harder to craft yet look at the swords craftsmanship! Obviously a master wood worker with the strength of a master warrior carved it. I will offer 250 gold because I am so impressed with you.¡± I study the sword again for a moment in admiration indeed it was defiantly crafted by a master at least however¡­ ¡°I agree that it was carved by a master, but master warriors with master ability in carving ironwood are more common than you one might think. Whittling was besides knitting, one of the most common hobbies soldiers would use in between battles in order to pass the time. I bet if we went to other stores we could probably find swords that are almost identical to this one¡­but as it seems you and Vice Master are friends, as her disciple I will be friendly as well and up my offer by 50 gold. 150 gold take it or we will probably leave!¡± Vice Master who seems greatly entertained by our bargaining, now openly grins at me in delight while the shop owner pulls at his beard and sighs. ¡°Maybe kid with that frail body you should consider becoming a merchant rather than a warrior¡­I admit defeat 150 gold it is¡± we proceed to shake hands as a laughing Vice Master takes out her magic purse (unlike mine I can tell it is authentic) and counts out 160 gold. ¡°Ha ha my disciple is even more valuable than I thought father will be so happy to save 100 gold here old man, an extra 10 gold for all your help and because you were so entertaining.¡± I finding this greatly amusing soon start snickering, the old blacksmith sighs for a moment then grins and joins in our laughter.
*** Vocabulary: Ironwood: A magical tree that likes to grow in places where blood has been spilt. Is a very tough material and its hardness and durability is on par with most ordinary metals. Actually it is so hard and difficult to carve that it requires a master wood carver who is at least intermeidet warrior or better yet master warrior in strength. Unicorn Willow: A lovely beautiful delicate looking tree that unmolested in its natural environment is a very frail and weak material that attracts innocence loving light element monsters usually unicorns or Pegasus. However it contains powerful magic and according to rumor if an elf song master sings to it and performs certain steps, and procedures. It will greatly harden and toughen while still maintaining its beauty but it now repels all monsters instead of attracting them. Volume One Chapter 4: The Prime Wizard Revealed! The Prime Wizard Revealed! (Wilhelm Dragonsong) The Vice Master and I cheerfully head back to the dojo with me happily holding my new sword and casually swinging it as we walk. Along the way the Vice Master informs me that now that I have finished the basic training I am now allowed ud to receive a room to sleep in at the dojo. As well as 3 meals a day at an additional price of 50 gold a year, however since I have helped them to save money she will make sure I get a great discount and only have to pay 1 gold a year instead. I make a joke about the greatness of discount which she finds immensely funny as she is under the impression that I am poor. We arrive at the dojo and the Vice Master suddenly pales and cuts off her laughter mid laugh. Worried about the cause of her reaction I turn towards the dojo and see that the majority of the students are not inside training as expected but grouped in a crowd in front of the main entrance. Heading the crowd is a short middle aged man with a large halo of chaotically curly white hair, a long thin mustache and a short pointed beard. He is also loaded with sleek muscle and radiates power and authority. He is the master of the dojo the Vice Master¡¯s father. In front of him is a man of average height with an extremely arrogant and smug expression on his face. Hulking on either side of him are two body guards, who are tall enough to tower over even me. Their muscles are bulging through their tight clothing, and they each have a giant sized weapons on their backs the left a great sword the right a battle axe. It is obvious from the fancy robes and pointy hat the man is wearing that he is a magic user. What probably none of the others in my dojo know, is that his two body guards are magic swordsmen. The Master looks very angry, to the point where he is trembling with rage. Vice Master immediately runs over quickly leaving me too much more slowly in comparison follow after her and stand on the edge of the crowd not wanting to grab attention. ¡°Father! What¡¯s going on?!¡± Vice Master shouts as she reaches her father¡¯s side. The master spits at the ground and disgust before saying angrily ¡°This¡± insert gruesome bad word here ¡°says that they are taking our dojo, and if we refuse they claim that they will ¡°challenge the dojo and humiliate us¡±. ¡°What?!!¡± the Vice Master turns towards the arrogant guy with shock and confusion. ¡°But this is a warrior¡¯s dojo why would they¡­?¡± The magic user looks over the Vice Master with a lecherous gaze and says ¡°Young miss, you must realize that this dojo is in a prime spot, why wouldn¡¯t we want to have it?¡± he proceeds laugh in a most annoying way. I must admit he is right about the location, it is on the side of the city closest to the monster kingdom but still deep within the borders enough to know you can sleep safely at night¡­and one of the larger markets is conveniently only a short walk away. The biggest reason I chose this dojo to learn at was not because of these amenities, (thought they were influential) but because it came highly recommended by one of my more trustworthy subordinates. The idiot breaks into my train of thought by continuing his moronic speech. ¡°You must know, that ever since the great hero ended the war proving once and for all magic users superiority over warriors that dojos have become obsolete¡± grinning in a disguising way he finishes with ¡°I intend to upgrade this city by removing one of the useless dojos by remolding it into a magic training hall and recruitment office. I have been recently granted the grand title of ¡®duke¡¯ of Hingeburg and I need to train up some new subordinates and guards for my new home. As he is giving one last mocking laugh. The Vice Master moves as if to attack him, but is quickly stopped by her father. Both glare at him in anger, but while the Master continues to do nothing, his much younger and rasher daughter shakes off her father¡¯s hold and boldly says. ¡°I will accept your challenge!¡± hearing this the man roars with laughter while the Master frowns in worry and turns to look around at the crowd. Suspecting he is looking for me I lift my hand and wave it slightly to draw attention to myself. Spying me he relaxes slightly relief he tilts his head towards his daughter and then towards me and gives a questioning look. I look obviously at his daughter and then raise my eyebrow and shrug as I shake my head. He sighs even more deeply and nods at me in acceptance. I am glad he got the message, which was daughter is too determined to stop without making a scene and I will step in if things get ugly. Like his daughter but for far different reasons he likes me, though at my request, he has never directly trained me. A few months ago when I gave the gold to the Vice Master, after I was kneeling gasping on the ground after twenty laps I had barely managed to do, I noticed the Vice Master, and the Master standing in front of me. ¡°See father he didn¡¯t even give up¡­he is different from the others.¡± The Master looked at me with a blank expression but after a moment his eyes widened almost comically. ¡°Daughter go see to the other students I need to speak to this new fellow alone¡± not expecting this, his daughter is surprised but she obediently bows and then leaves. After helping a gasping I to my feet he drags me to his office and after making sure the door is closed he whispers in a shocked voice. He had obviously somehow figured out at least something of what I was. ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± I don¡¯t give him the whole truth, specifically I left out my name but I did give most of the truth otherwise. ¡°When I was a boy, I had always wanted to be a warrior, however it was discovered early on that I had great natural talent in magic. So despite my protests I was forced to enter a magic school. Eventually I came to like magic almost as much as I had wanted to be a warrior and decided to put my dreams aside. Then when I was almost at the end of my education and still considered a young man the war started¡± he looked a bit shocked at this knowledge as the war started over 50 years ago and I looked to be in my early 20s I nodded at him in acknowledge of the fact that I can be considered old for a human which is the race I am most like. I continued with ¡°Soon after I graduated and completed my required teaching¡± (both with honors because of my weapon donations to the war effort) ¡°I joined the army¡­seeing all the warriors fight so bravely most without magic, and doing great things¡­I was greatly impressed¡± I was not lying there were many enemies that had immunity to magic and thus the average mage could do nothing against them (I being able in some circumstances) in these cases it was usually the warriors who saved the day while the magic users were helpless. ¡°The sight re-awakened my childhood dream and after I-after the war ended I decided I would like to become a warrior. I was primarily a mage, but I knew many spells that made me the equivalent of a magic swordsmen already¡­what I desired was not more unneeded power but skill¡­and thus I decided become a warrior the old fashioned way. I talked to a su- an acquaintance and they recommended your dojo.¡± After asking me many questions, some of which I didn¡¯t answer, at least directly, he easily promised to not reveal what I was to anyone and would ask his daughter personally teach me, and since I interested her anyway she would probably agree. So now we are back to the present day, all of the students have already formed a ring around the challenger, his minions and the Vice Master. Secretly I preformed a spell which would obscure current events from casual view and hopefully protect whatever happened from becoming common knowledge. Unsurprisingly to me, for the first round the duke had his minions fight in his stead. To his shock the Vice Master was able to easily defeat them. This was no great surprise, because the Vice Master was one of those rare few master level warriors that possessed Ki. Ki is a form of energy similar to magic that only those who have trained their body to its greatest state can use. What potentially could even things up was the fact that the magic swordsmen were able to use spells such as haste and attack blessing spells. However, the Vice Master was much more skilled in her swordsmanship, and was able to bridge the gap caused by their spells with her use of Ki and much better technique. But after his initial shock at seeing his minions defeated the duke was surprisingly unphased. ¡°Ha not bad, when this dojo is mine you can stay behind as one of my disciples if you want¡± for a split second I could swear I could see that the Vice Master was tempted hit him, but after that split second passed she managed to control herself, but there was a sneer on her face as she mocked. ¡°I would never want to learn magic from a crappy a man as you¡± Her reply didn¡¯t seem to bother the duke much, as he said ¡°Ha ha ha¡­oh well then you will just have to be on the streets, with the rest of your dojo. I formally challenge you to a duel. Please give me your name and rank, oh beautiful warrior? ¡°I have no reason to give my name to trash¡± ¡°I will give my name and rank anyway it is after all the ''polite'' and ''traditional'' thing to do. I am Marven Pahzel duke of Hingeburg. Grandmaster level wizard, at your service¡± he gave a bow, hearing the man¡¯s rank Master shot a panicked look in my direction I nodded in recognition and then moved a bit closer to the action, after readying myself. I had thought I knew all the Grandmaster level Wizards, however I was a lot more sketchy on the details of the Master level wizards and it was possible that during the last few years, while I had been stuck paper shuffling or helping the restoration and cleanup efforts that were going on after the war, that I had missed some promotion ceremonies. So there was a possibility that he managed to have a break through. I was able to sense his rank, which he made no attempt to hide his power, so I knew he wasn¡¯t lying. The battle soon started, he seemed to be a traditional type mage, and he stood there casually surrounded by a magic shield while he threw magic bolts of various sizes speeds and elements at the Vice Master. She was able to doge most of them and attack but she wasn¡¯t strong enough to make it through his defense. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then soon after that, he created a tracking bolt that was impossible to doge and got hit, she fell to the ground, paralyzed and shaking and before the Master started to yell at me for letting her get hurt. I quietly ran over and quickly healed her. After I turned to see the duke was crowing at his own prowess, I stood and walked until I was right in front of him¡­startled out of his self-praise he turned to look at me. ¡°What do you want?¡± I smiled at him ¡°You didn¡¯t challenge the dojo with that match, you challenged the Vice Master personally thus, the dojo isn¡¯t yours unless you challenge and defeat the Master himself or every student of the dojo that is of your level or higher correct?¡± ¡°What of it? I am obviously more than strong enough to defeat your master¡± he pointed arrogantly at the master ¡°The dojo is as good as mine¡±. I smiled even wider ¡°Not quite yet I said, I Wilhelm Dragonsong, title: Prime Wizard, Hero level. Challenge you to a fight for the right to the dojo, if I defeat you, you must leave and never challenge this dojo or any other dojo again.¡± I had been planning to keep my name hidden but since I allowed Vice Master to be injured, I had broken the unspoken agreement I had with the Master and thus felt I should pay some form of penalty for it. Besides with my obscuring spell up, no one other than those already here would learn of my identity, and I felt there would be a strong possibility of getting the others to promise to keep my identity to themselves. The duke¡¯s mouth dropped for a moment then he laughed until tears were coming out his eyes. ¡°If you are going to pretend to be someone you are not then at least pick someone more believable¡­I mean the great hero of the war¡­the one who made wizardry an honorable and noble profession outside the elven lands, that Dragonsong? That guy is known to be over 108 years old why aren¡¯t you an old man?¡± He laughed a bit more then said. ¡°Fine I will fight you whatever your name is¡­it shall be amusing to crush a bug that dares to besmirch the name of the Prime Wizard.¡± I pick up my sword from where I had dropped it on the ground after rushing to heal Vice Master and said. ¡°You can call me Will, if my full label intimidates you and you can think what you want, but Dragonsong is indeed my real surname¡±, I gave him a salute and took my recently learned sword stance. I wasn¡¯t surprised that he thought I should be like an old man. Most people only knew that I was mostly human and when they learned my age they made assumptions. When I first started schooling 100 years ago it was the fashion and tradition of the time that mages particularly wizards should be dressed in heavy full body covering robes and a concealing cloak with a hood. Then eventually things changed and with it fashion. However I never bothered to buy any of the lighter head revealing wizard wear that was becoming more popular. I felt that since I already had so many clothes in that style , enough to last me for quite a while, and as I was used to wearing it and didn''t care about fashion, why I should I bother switching to something new? Thus most people did not know my true appearance, and those that did no weren¡¯t the type to bother telling others. Plus the one feature that others could see in that get up was my hair¡­and while my long snow white hair was considered unnatural when I was a child it was completely expected and deceiving at 108 years old. Shaking off my random thoughts I prepared my mind for battled. Most wizards fought, the same way the duke did, in what was called the traditional style. A traditional style user would remain in one place covered in magic shields, while they would attack the enemy with ranged and area affect spells. I of course could use the traditional style and I was somewhat good at it however my preferred style was one I helped design. During the war in order to be able to defeat troublesome enemies, types of magical combat completely different form the traditional style were developed including my own. During my early experiences in the war I asked myself a question¡­what is a mage¡¯s greatest weakness? The answer is of course close combat. So I experimented in various ways to create spells that made close combat possible while still retaining the strengths that the mage classes are known for which is long range and area of effect spells. What I came up with was basically turning yourself into a warrior when necessary without needing to have the body or the skills. First I would cast a spell that would temporarily turn my body into that of a high level warrior. Then I would summon a warrior type spirit that I felt was absolutely trustworthy and loyal. I would allow it to possess my body, then I take control of my body. The result a wizard that could at any time of their choosing turn into another person with the skills and body of a warrior while still maintaining their abilities of a wizard. Basically the wizard would temporarily become a monster. I of course shared my spells with the mage community but it never became very popular. This was of course unlike my contracted spirts who all considered themselves my dear friends and allowed me to make the decisions in battle despite possessing me. Other wizards contracted spirits had high disloyalty and disliked the ones they considered their enslavers, so they would as much as the contract allowed disobey as much as possible. So other wizards unlike me couldn¡¯t just cast two spells and be done. They also had to completely enslave their spirits first, and when they fought they had a lot less control of the decisions made because they had to order their spirits at the same time as they fought. All of these actions required mental and magical energy¡­thus other wizards could only fight in this way after several minutes of preparation, for only a little longer than 5 minutes plus the time they took to prepare. This time was especially restricted because most of the ones willing to try my spells were not at my level and thus had a more limited magic pool. I on the other hand could fight for hours, once after careful rationing of my magic power and letting my spirit do most of the work¡­I managed to fight for almost an entire day. My favorite and primary spirit was named Arn Berserker. He was a powerful spirit whose origin was different from most other spirits¡­a powerful mage had contracted him, but the contract was not for him but for his weaker beloved warrior brother he wanted the spirit to defend against mages by using its spiritual attacks. Over time he and this brother became friends¡­and the brother would allow him to be possessed by the spirit¡­and play around in his body. Over time they began to assimilate with each other¡­the brother could perform the spirit attacks on his own and Arn learned the variety of the high level martial arts that the brother possessed. Eventually the brother died and the spirit was left without a master. One of my unofficial sanctioned adventures I met him and we became friends¡­and when during my research into controlled possession I thought of him. The rest as they say was history. I chantless casted both of the required spells almost at the same time¡­it is my ability to chantless cast that allowed me to become a grandmaster. And it was the spells I created such as the two I casted that let me reach hero level. ¡®Arn¡¯ I said when I felt the spirit possess me ¡®let me try fighting without your skills in the beginning I want to see how far I have come in my training¡¯. ¡®Yes Will¡¯ the spirit replied¡­I felt his controls grip slacken, so that right now he was just basically a passenger rather than the rider. I proceeded to attack. To my surprise I managed to get a few good hits in with my sword before the duke got over his shock and retaliated. However once he recovered his spell casting got so quick that I realized that as expected I probably couldn¡¯t easily defeat him with just my own power. ¡®Arn¡¯ I called. Immediately I felt my body moving on its own doing things that the current me was completely incapable of. Soon Marven was driven back and with just a few spells after this point his magic shields broke and he could be officially considered defeated. ¡°Mercy!¡± the shorter man cowered in front of me pathetically ¡°Mercy! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± I wasn¡¯t feeling very blood thirsty at the moment, however I felt he should be punished for hurting the Vice Master and for arrogantly and selfishly planning to take over a dojo. So I cursed him with a spell that would limit his ability to cast magic to just the beginner level. I felt that I used enough energy for it to last a few years at least. (Though I didn¡¯t tell him that) I hoped that his experiences from this point on under the curse would help him learn some humility. After taking care of him I looked around and noticed that all the members of the dojo including the Master were staring at me stunned, some were fearful, and some looked at me in such an idolizing way that I felt uncomfortable. Unlike the others the Vice Master merely looked like she was carefully considering something. After a few moments she seemed to come to a conclusion and before anyone else got over their shock she ran over to me. And to my utter surprise she performed a low bow kneeling on the floor. Then in a clear voice she said. ¡°This lowly one wishes to learn of this great one¡¯s wisdom.¡±
*** Vocabulary: Mage: a magic user in general Magic Swordsmen: A person that uses both magic and a weapon, they do not need to be proficient in either and usually focus on one more than the other. Usually considered unskilled no matter what path they follow. Wizard: One who uses spells and magic in order to attack, defend, heal or craft things. Rank: Apprentice => intermediate =>expert=>master=>grandmaster=>hero=>God Volume One Chapter 5: Time to think Time to think (Wilhelm Dragonsong) I look at her kneeling there and am still shocked for multiple reasons. Luckily, unlike the others I can choose to hide my emotions, a convenient part of the training I went through during my journey to become prime wizard. I didn¡¯t even know that the Vice master was interested in magic. I mean there was no sign. She didn¡¯t seem to like the idea of magic swords while we were at the shop and every time a young buck hits on her while obviously possessing or claiming to possess magic, her put downs automatically become much more sharp and critical then if they are just another warrior or a common man. Then again sometimes dislike and like walk a very fine line¡­what I thought was mere dislike or even hatred could have actually been jealousy or frustration at her circumstances. Though it was indeed shocking, the fact that she probably likes magic isn¡¯t what most surprised me. What most surprised me was that brief little thrill I got when she said that almost perfect rendition of those time honored traditional words. I am most certainly sure that she doesn¡¯t know what those words can mean when said to an individual instead of a group, under the required circumstances and conditions we seem to be meeting in. But I do, and even now it is taking almost all my will power just to stop myself from blushing at the mere fantastic thought that brushed through my mind that she was actually seriously saying those words while meaning them in their true context. Thinking that I had better answer her before the others also recover and interrupt something I consider almost sacred. I reach and lift her chin. I blink several times when those violet eyes look seriously into mine mostly because of the irony as I did something similar to her a few months ago and now our positions are reversed. After assuring her attention, once again I help her to her feet and then say. ¡°First of all could you please tell me your name?¡± Her mouth drops open as she realizes that we have never officially introduced ourselves, at least with names involved. I am not that startled by the idea though because, in this world because of the language we speak it is not that uncommon to only know the names of those very close to you, someone you yourself have named or those that challenge you to a duel. Also there is no part of this tradition where one is required to share their identity. In fact the opposite is encouraged, the policy coming from the olden days where students with optimal backgrounds were in short supply, and there were people possessing criminal pasts who wished to learn from a master. The student would get to learn without any bias or repercussions from their teacher, and the teacher had the right to claim innocence if their student¡¯s past caught up with them in a bad legal way. However these were modern times and I didn¡¯t want to even consider giving an answer to her if I didn¡¯t even know her name. She recovered a bit quicker than she did from the last shock, and preceded to answer me in a firm clear voice. ¡°This potential apprentice¡¯s name is Vanessa Swordarm, I am honored to meet you...¡± She pauses realizing she doesn¡¯t know the proper protocol for speaking to someone like me¡­to be honest not even I really know all the proper protocols that would be involved if someone wanted to address me ¡®properly¡¯. Even before I was outed as the ¡®hero¡¯ I had, because of my mage rank, family inheritances and numerous adventures, many names and titles already. Wanting to make things simple for her, as I do for most people, I said. ¡°Just call me Will. Or if you want you could even call me disciple as you usually do¡±. For some reason after hearing this she blushed. ¡°Warrior Vanessa¡± I ignored her blushing and continued ¡°Right now I wasn¡¯t planning to take on any students for quite a while, and there are various things to consider that you might not even know about. So I respectfully request that you give me some time to think about it. If you gaunt me this selfish request I swear upon my honor as a master in my craft that I will get back to you with a reply as soon as I decide on my answer.¡± hopefully one that we could both live with and without any regrets. She looked rather confused and a bit disappointed that I didn¡¯t give her an immediate reply, but I was adamant in my decision. Even if I discount the hidden meaning of those words she said and take her intentions at face value as I had planned to do¡­it still was a most serious thing she was asking. If she had been admitted to the university and I had been still teaching it would have been simple because there would have been many students and more importantly man other teachers. But she seemed to be requesting one on one teaching, a true master apprentice relationship and there is nothing more potentially complicated than that. ¡°I respectfully honor your request.¡± no longer meeting my eyes she turns and walks away and enters the dojo shutting the door behind her. As if she broke the spell everyone else was under with her actions. There is movement again, about a third of the disciples present start crowding around me. Some seem to want to ingratiate themselves to me with flattery. Others embarrassingly enough seem to truly admire me or at least what they imagine me to be. The remainder either seem to not know what to think or were warriors that completely against magic users and holding many prejudices in their hearts were probably either trying to think up a way to maintain their illogical biases or were reassessing how they would think of magic users in the future after counting not only my actions but those of the one I defeated in a challenge duel. The master continued to stand in the location he had been in since the match, and he gave me a grave nod and a tilted smirk. That I translated to mean that we would discuss my full true identity later. Immediately tiring of the crowds and weary of the ones hanging back I slip and force my way out of the group and sword still in hand, I stand on an exercise bench nearby. ¡°I have something to say to all of you who witnessed what happened.¡± I said with a bit of magical enhancement to my voice They whispered but quieted it down when I began to speak again. ¡°Most of you may not have noticed but I had casted a magical shield before the fight started. This shield should have prevented any outsiders from knowing what occurred with in.¡± I patiently wait a few moments as their whispering voices briefly rise and fall again before continuing. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°So we can logically assume that no one knows what happened other than us and that guy¡± I pointed to the noble man I had recently defeated who was still whimpering in despair and pain on the ground nearby. The whispers continued for a bit longer at this but I soon was able to interrupt. ¡°However I would like to request that you not spread around rumors of what you saw and heard today. If anyone does come here asking for me, I will deny everything and consider any obvious sources of the leak as my enemy. However anyone who courteously keeps their mouth shut I shall consider my friends¡­eh¡­that is all.¡± One of the warriors from the anti-magic stance group suddenly spoke up. ¡°What if we don¡¯t care about your threat and talk to everybody anyway? What happens then?¡± I start laughing then holding up a hand in a symbol of wait a moment I finished laughing and said. ¡°Do you think that anyone you talk too would believe that I¡± I gestured to my happy appearance and said ¡°am who you claim me to be?¡± The anti-magic warrior stepped back his face flushed in embarrassed realization. Several other warriors who seemed part of his group also stepped back. No they probably wouldn¡¯t believe them if they said anything. *** Right after that conversation I disguised myself with magic and waited for things to quiet down growing board with the front yard I went in search of better places to wait, and soon found myself taking shelter on the dojo¡¯s rooftop. Leaning back and admiring the stars, I glanced down below and noticed that the master was sitting on his porch relaxing. A porch that could be considered private as it faced his own small enclosed personal peace garden. Thinking that now was a good a time as any to have that talk he had seemed to want with me, I cross the rooftop as nimbly as a cat then silently jump down using a dash of magic to lightly land in the space next to him. Without turning from facing the garden he addresses me. ¡°So should I start calling you son i-?¡± ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE SHAME YOUR DAUGHTER IN SUCH A FASHON I WON¡¯T STAND FOR IT!¡± I quickly yell to prevent him from finishing his sentence. He blinks for a few moments shocked at my overreaction then he smirks. Probably amused at seeing my blush, as I am fiercely red at the moment. ¡°All right, all right, I mean no offense¡­to be honest if that girl did know what she was talking about I wouldn¡¯t have minded if you had said yes, and that is a compliment I wouldn¡¯t pay most men I can assure you.¡± He pauses and takes a sip of tea from the small cup he is cradling in his hands. ¡°Even though I am not technically a warrior?¡± I ask intrigued and flattered. While distracted by my own curiosity I quickly calm down, and I feel my cheeks cool to a normal temperature. ¡°Well aren¡¯t you still carrying that sword that I paid for? Doesn¡¯t this mean that you can be considered officially as a Warrior of the beginning rank? I am sure with my daughters ability as an instructor as well as what I have seen of your own determination that you should be able to rise in ranks, which is rare for an adult, so basically you meet the requirements there. ¡± he glanced at me then looked back over his peace garden while taking another sip of tea. I too looked out over the garden, as I had nothing to say to that statement, and found myself admiring its serene themed beauty. Half of it was made up of rocks and sands raked in mind calming patterns, the other half was a small glowing koi fish pond, surrounded by lovely flowering plants the majority of which I knew to be local. I sighed to myself in quiet delight, inspired by the comfortable posture of the master, I allow myself to sink to the ground, taking the meditative form that is the most comfortable sitting posture for me, I use my magic to create a cup filled with my favorite type of tea, and also begin to sip. ¡°Actually¡­¡± I glance at the Master irritated as I had just begun to loose myself in this place¡¯s tranquility ¡°¡­the only potential downside preventing you from being completely ideal that I can see, is that you are much older than her but¡­as you don¡¯t actually look your age and you are probably near immortal such a thing doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± I spit out my tea in shock, then quickly, wanting to change the subject, I ask a question that has been bothering me since the start of our conversation. ¡°-anyway as she didn¡¯t really mean it, this topic is moot point anyway. But as you seem to know aspects of tradition that not many know these days I have to wonder¡­ how it is that you know?¡± I turn to look at him once again, and find him smirking at the sight of my now tea stained clothes, with a small stern glance at my new stain it vanishes and with another quick look at my tea cup and it fills once again with fresh tea. He frowns in slight disappointment then lifts up his almost empty tea cup and raises a single eye brow at me. Sighing to myself wearily I silently cast a mini endless bounty spell and his tea cup fills with more of what he was originally drinking¡­a spell that guaranteed bounty, because for as long as the spell lasted naturally (or if I didn¡¯t dispel it in the meantime)it would never empty again. Taking a much longer sip of tea then he had before, he moaned in satisfaction then set his cup down, on the porch and moved a bit in order to face me. ¡°Have you ever heard of the name Ronald Swordarm?¡± He inquired a smirk, but one more mischievous than those seen previously, now back on his face
*** Vocabulary: Exercise bench: a tilted wooden bench attached to wooden bars¡­you maybe able to see this worlds equivalent of what I am talking about, next to other wooden exercise equipment usually sitting beside an outdoor playground Glowing Koi Fish: A lovely decorative fish that was bred for its tendency to glow softly at night, a most beautiful creature that is often considered almost a requirement for a peace garden to have. Peace Garden: Isn¡¯t it obvious? It is this worlds version of a Zen garden, many dojos tend to have them as ¡°peace¡±, although it may seem contradictory to some, is a vital element for a Warrior¡¯s cultivation especially after intermediate rank is reached. Volume One Chapter 6: The Vice Masters Troubles Spoiler : To people who read this: First of all I am so sorry for the long wait. In the beginning it was because of exams and then it was because I got sick. (for those of you who also read Reincarnation Flower I will now say that sadly it is also because I somehow lost the data on that chapter and will have to rewrite it) anyway to continue while I will admit that this chapter is not my best work I don''t think it is my worst work either so hopefully it will be somewhat satisfying to at least some of you. If it isn''t obvious the poll is because I can''t decide what direction to go for the cover of this fanfic. I was originally just going to go with the handle of a sword or a sword and then I thought that cover was kind of overdone to the point where it now seems a bit generic so I decided to see if there was anything that you readers would particularly like...actually originally I wasn''t going to post this fanfiction until I had the cover decided but then the end of the wizard one shot contest overexcited me to the point where I had to publish this fanfic... Anyway here are the options in a bit more detail: Warrior Theme: Swords, training swords, other weapons, a picture of a dojo, a picture of a generic warrior, maybe something with blood in it or with warriors fighting, something that has to stereotypically do with martial arts Wizardry Paraphernalia: wands, staffs, alchemical equipment, a crystal ball, a magic spell being cast, something magical doing something with magic, a stack of books, a wizard hat, a wizard tower Magic Fighter Motif: A staff or wand crossing a sword or training sword, a generic figure that looks like a wizard/warrior fighting a generic warrior/wizard, a weapon sitting next to wizard paraphernalia, something martial arty sitting inside a magic circle, A Magic Creature(s): A dragon, a unicorn, a dragon and a unicorn, a monster, a tree, a coat of arms featuring several different creatures, a magic creature fighting a warrior and or wizard, a magic creature fighting one or more magic creatures A Landscape: A forest, a sunset, something that looks romantic, something that gives a sense of tragedy or desolation, a pretty scene that gives the reader a taste of what the ''world'' looks like, can be combined with other ideas Historic Scene: Something that has to do with the plot, something that has to do with a scene from the back-story that isn''t written in detail, something that gives a hint to a future plot line, something that tells the reader something about one of the characters Modern: Plain words on a plain background, pretty artistic letters on a plain background, plain or artistic words on a lacy or patterned background, plain or artistic words in front of a background but with emphasis or focus given to the words Character Portrait(s): Not recommended, one or more of the main characters in a random pose or situation, probably will be in manga/anime style (I am not that good an artist), Will will probably be shown in his old fashioned wizard robes, or maybe in dojo gear Random: Either I eeny, meeny, miny, moe the options already given, or I pick something that has nothing to do with the story at all, you guessed it: something completely random. Choosing this option means that you don''t care what the cover will be and you won''t bother to help me choose it either (and for some reason you want me to know that) Other: Either you have an idea that you want to see that is not specifically among the options given or you are an artist that works for free (sorry I can''t pay money) who really wants me to use their cover art, either as is or for inspiration. If you pick 1-8 please comment and tell me why you picked it and more detail as to what you want. If you pick the ''other'' option because you are an artist but don''t want to show everyone your work, you can p.m. me. If you picked what is behind door number 9, please also feel free to comment or p.m. me as to your thoughts on the subject. Note: Any experimental art that I make during this process, or that I am given (and have accepted and been given permission) will be later published in the story at some point Note2: With the random option I don''t really mean that I really think that way, I was just making a personal negative joke/way for you guys to tease me back Update: I changed the poll to allow up to 3 votes (in case anyone is like me and has a hard time choosing one thing over another) The Vice Master''s Troubles (Vanessa Swordarm) That guy, that most strange guy. I knew since I first met him that there was something sort of off about him and this was even before he said words that not even many grandfathers would still say. In fact the only reason I knew about it was because my grandfather¡­before he left on his journey used to tell me stories about the ¡°good old days¡± in his father¡¯s time where warriors were more respected and everyone from kings to chimney sweeps had to learn honor and etiquette as part of their life education. ¡°Honor, and good manners¡­¡± he used to tell me ¡°¡­is more important than treasure and can often be your best chance at survival¡± Obviously he may have exaggerated a bit, but I can agree, that it is best to ¡®play nice¡¯ in most circumstances as you never know who you might be talking to and what would happen if you upset them. I am glad that guy seems to be a most tolerant sort or my surprised laughter or that childish mocking that I saw the other disciples give him could have ended in a blood bath. While I feel that in most cases it is best to play nice with everyone no matter their appearance, this isn¡¯t the norm. There is a distinct a lack of common decency now a days in this modern era. It seems that as soon as the threat of death was no longer overshadowing us it seemed that some people just went drunk from the freedom. Soon after it became the norm to treat everyone with rudeness unless you know that they were stronger then you or had high political connections. But what I know for a fact and cannot forget as it had driven into me by my grandfather is that ¡®appearances can be deceiving¡¯. Case in point is that man¡¯s true identity. Grandfather I shall never doubt your most wise advice again. But still. BUT STILL! I never would have imagined his real identity would be so awesomely and conveniently THAT! I had always wanted to see if I could be a mage. Unfortunately my mother died a few years after my birth and my father never remarried so I was the only heir of the dojo. Out of a sense of responsibility as well as adherence to tradition as the sole remaining heir to the dojo I had to stay. Any plans of rebellion that I briefly had were swiftly cut short when I realized that I would not be a prodigy in magic. And a prodigy I would have had to be if a school or master would want to support me so much to the point that they would be willing to go against my father. And that guy has many connections, if that noble challenger knew of just one of my father¡¯s connections he would have probably run away in fear rather than challenge the dojo. But relying on others for dojo matters goes strongly against my father¡¯s great pride. More importantly, if I had been a magic prodigy I could have possibly convinced my father over time to let me take a break from the dojo and go in search of a master or school that would accept me despite my lack. So great was my desire that I had even briefly considered relying on my beauty to get what I desired. But my better nature soon pointed out the folly of that method. Unless I had the really decent luck to catch someone with a very good moral standard with that net, I would probably end up being at the very least ¡®encouraged¡¯ or at the worst forced do things a young maiden such as myself should never be forced to do, especially without love. Not wanting to take any chances, but mostly because even if I did find a decent person bargaining with my looks didn¡¯t sit well to my standards. So with that option gone and without any large amount of magic talents, I could not stand against father or connections. I would have tried to beg and plead with him. But before I was at an age where I could think to ask him, he had noticed my desires and flat out told me he would never let me leave the dojo unless he was dead. I know for a fact he was strictly exaggerating but a far larger motivation kept me in check. Rather than being bound by fear of my father it was my affection for him. I didn¡¯t want to disappoint or hurt him, and I especially never wanted him or more importantly myself to feel ashamed that I wasn¡¯t living up to my filial duties. So I was stuck, So the only chance I had was if a teacher by fate came to me. A teacher that looked to possess at least beginner¡¯s knowledge and more importantly was showed to be of good moral standards. I decided then that if such a rare and extraordinary thing occurred I would immediately discard my pride and go on my knees if need be to beg. I expected that there would be then an immediately no or a no followed after a pause of some length. I decided that if their personality seemed to be of the less determined type if their answer was of the later I would continue my begging for as long as possible. But when I dropped to my knees while using a cobbled together old-fashioned way to request apprenticeship that I hoped he would appreciate -his answer was completely outside my calculations¡­not any kind of no, or even a freakish abnormal immediate yes but a request for more time in which to answer my question. I knew that guy was of the decent sort when I came to know him over these last few months. As evidence¡­there was the fact that going over my memories now that I know his background, I can honestly say that I don¡¯t think he has ever lied to me. Sometimes when I now and then out of boredom or politeness asked him a question that I now know would have revealed something he couldn¡¯t answer without letting the full truth slip, he wouldn¡¯t refuse me or say he couldn¡¯t answer nor did he lie. He would carefully and almost poetically tell me the truth with certain revealing parts wisely cut out. Before I had ¡®known¡¯ I had thought he answered in that way because he was an eccentric person who did not think in the same way as other people, now I continue to think that is true but also that he is a most caring person who does not want to tell lies to other people or even deceive them greatly if he can avoid it. Yes he is a caring sort of person¡­I was a bit worried when I had thought he had no money as without money how would he live, let alone afford to buy things such as a practice sword? Before he had reached the level that would allow me to help him with the dojo¡¯s money¡­I spied on something quite startling. Unlike the other dojo goers who usually would only help another if they were their friend or they felt that they could earn something from them in the future¡­he selflessly and quietly would help the youngest and newest members in his free time. I saw him instructing them in the little bits he had already learned, heard him say such claims such as: ¡°since we are of a similar level it should be easier for you to learn from me¡± while demonstrating extremely basic forms. Even more surprising, while most adult males would do everything in their power to avoid losing even the smallest amount of pride, he would shamelessly admit to those children that he was ¡®weaker¡¯ then them and would encourage them to go ahead when they would hang back with him while he exercised by running. I barely stopped myself from grinning almost manically to myself that one day when I saw the precocious and elder-wary of the children easily jogging by his side yelling encouragements at him gleefully, which he tiredly but graciously accepted. When I myself later asked him such questions as ¡®why did he do that¡¯ or ¡®did he like children?¡¯ He would give a puzzled look, then answer in way that indicated that helping children was such a natural part of him that it didn¡¯t even warrant extra thought or a reason for him to do so, basically acting that way was to him so ¡®ordinary¡¯ that it wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°If children need help, you help them.¡± He answered me one time ¡°...but that kid is faster and better at me so why wouldn¡¯t I tell him so?¡± he told me on another occasion. Basically helping the children was a part of his basic intrinsic logic. Where most people would say eating sleeping working was a natural habit. I would bet with a little work I could get him to admit to adding such additions, as ¡®helping those who need help¡¯, or ¡®freely admit ones mistakes¡¯ to what tis probably a lengthy list. His habits were very good in many other respects as well. Firstly I will say he is the best student that I have ever had in my nearly 16 years of teaching in this dojo. He remembers clearly everything you say or instruct to him. Rarely if ever had I needed to repeat myself. He is also not afraid to ask questions. If he does not understand or know something he would quickly clearly and concisely ask. He is also most obedient, where many of my past students would get impatient and either over do things or attempt to do things they are not yet ready for or capable of he would either do precisely what he was told, or indicate that he felt that he was able to do more by requesting that he be given more. He never did anything outside the training program I or father gave him unless he asked for it. Admittedly he is somewhat clumsy and I would often see him trip or stumble while he trained or exercised but this small fault is almost completely negated by the fact that he has the determination to overcome it. He is constantly practicing, and practicing in ways that I and I assume most people would not think of. For example a short time after the first time he started, I found him counting numbers as he walked panting around the jogging trail. Burning with curiosity I walked up to him and inquired what he was doing. After catching his breath he answered ¡°I am getting a rough measurement of how many of my footsteps it takes for me to go around one lap¡± when I asked him why he continued ¡°Well for one, whenever I come close to giving up I can encourage myself by saying ¡®there is only so and so amount of steps to go before I am done. Also, it helps me to distract myself from being tired.¡± One of the most perfect things about him as a student was his amazing ability to accept criticism. With most of my students if I didn¡¯t word things subtly they would get angry and embarrassed but with him even if I told it too him straight exactly what he was doing wrong no matter what it was or the extent of it he would usually smile and say ¡°thank you for the instruction Vice Master¡± and even more amazingly he would seem to completely implement my instructions because most of the faults I pointed out would soon vanish. The strangest thing about him however, was something that was actually somewhat refreshing although it did dint what little feminine pride I had. He didn¡¯t seem very affected by my beauty. Even in my girl hood every male I had met, including my father was affected by my appearance in some way. With my father and those already firmly attached to another woman or too old to care, they would feel a strong sense of protectiveness of the paternal or older brother kind, they also usually gained with it a strong desire to do whatever I wanted them to do. Through many experiments I found that only my father had some resistance but I predicted if I had pushed him only a little bit further he would have cracked. This is one of the reasons that I felt men are terrifying. Most of them are so strong yet they are so weak in other ways¡­ I was already somewhat terrified of my own power, but it was the thought that there were probably other females out there who could get the same results with intentions much more malicious then asking for a treat or small favor out of experimentation that made me distrust men and even some women. With him I instinctively felt that he was trustworthy and reliable in the way that people I had known before were not. Several times I teased him by asking of him various requests, most he would do without complaint but he never would rush to do them. Sometimes if what I asked grew too ridiculous he would ask if I was serious and then offer several options. Almost everytime though sometimes he would blush at my antics the way he acted made it clear he was doing it because ¡®I¡¯ a senor dojo member was asking him rather than because ¡®I¡¯ a beautiful young girl was asking him. What was most delightful about this, was that he actually listened and paid to me when I talked to him. Not even my father did that all the time but he did. With the students I would often have to repeat myself and even then they would continue to do things that I told them not to do. With my father sometimes I would have to do things under his nose because he didn¡¯t hear what I was saying at all and would stubbornly refuse something that I didn¡¯t even say when I was asking something entirely different. Although occasionally I would catch him in a glance of admiration in my direction or more often I would see him blush when I looked in his direction and know he was probably thinking of me. His gaze was never consistent or obvious and it never seemed to distract him from doing what he was supposed to be doing. Also unlike many others I never saw any lustful looks, or any disrespectful looks towards certain areas of my person. And I was most experienced in recognizing this as often young men would come to me while I was walking about and would bother me and by their lustful gazes I would know why. It was particularly annoying when ones that were mages did it, because I was reminded of my yearnings in that direction as well occasionally felt the temptation to accept their offerings in order to possibly ask for tutoring. But in order to discourage it I would dismiss them with at least twice as much force. It was to the point that while some of the warrior pursuers would occasionally try again a few more times, the mages never did. Though admittedly my teasing can¡¯t be taken for comparison to my scorn, and as I never actually dismissed him, and because he never actually tried. I still greatly enjoyed the fact that he would always quickly and easily recover from his embarrassment. Most importantly he never treated me different from anybody else. And he didn¡¯t treat anybody else differently than me. Although the attention I paid him really wasn¡¯t that much more or different compared to my other students, their jealously made them think otherwise. And when I saw the mayors daughter hanging about the dojo one day I immediately guessed that one of the students had whispered in her ear rumors of favoritism. Though I had never directly participated in the games pretty girls liked to do in the city, by virtue of my appearance I was a part of them whether I liked it or not. Though as I spent most of my time in the dojo I managed to avoid it I was still completely aware of what was going on. Often girls or even women would accuse me in very public places of stealing their boyfriends or significant others. A few I would feel pity for because in a way this really was the case though it was through no fault of mine. With these few, the reason for the location was because they were afraid of my skill as a martial artist and felt that being in public would protect them from be getting angry and hurting them. With these few I could be most understanding, I would clearly state that we had no intimate relationship and if their beloved wasn¡¯t a member of my dojo I would then usually take steps to avoid them. But for the others who were nasty in personality, I completely I had no clue what to do. These girls did their accusations in a public place not out of security but because they wanted the attention and the rumors it would create because they wanted to besmirch my character while inflating their own reputation. According to one of them, one of the main reasons I am so popular is because my practically non existing social life gave evidence to the theory that I was a ¡®pure sheltered¡¯ type girl. Which I admit wasn¡¯t a completely incorrect thing to think. Supposedly the result of their actions would be that men who admired me would suddenly realize that I was actually a man stealing b***h and give up on desiring me in favor of them. Basically mostly because I didn¡¯t really care about who my current followers were, whether or not one of the city¡¯s ¡®beauties¡¯ managed to steal one never bothered me or even perked my interest. So while now and then I realize there was a game afoot I was never playing it. Occasionally I would get to witness a humorous situation were the attempted poacher failed in their poaching attempt and the prize would even suddenly declare their devotion to me right in front of them and everyone. I conjectured, the reason why I won this game so often without even trying was mostly because most of my followers were also my students or the relatives or best buddies of my students¡­as such they had to respect me¡­and any attempt at rumors usually fell quite flat. But the more I ¡®won¡¯ these games and with so obviously without effort the more those competitive ¡­er girls wanted to beat me. So I could immediately guess why that mayor¡¯s daughter was there. What I couldn¡¯t fathom was why for the first time felt so bothered and nervous because of it. So much so that I took an exception in the form of a break in order to hide and watch what would happen. It took a while for that girl to even find him¡­partly because ever since becoming an official student his schedule was almost as busy as me but also probably because many of the men seemed to be jealous at the thought that a beautiful woman was interested in him, and as he wasn¡¯t their friend they had no obligation to ¡®help¡¯ him by directing her towards him. But eventually she caught him while he was taking a break. My hiding place was too far away for me to hear what was said, but he seemed as calm and polite as usual and as she walked away with a very dazed expression on her face. She also did not return. I felt not only a strange sort of relief but also that my trust in him had been increasingly firmed. It was my trust in him that made me hope that he at least somewhat considered me his friend, and it was this trust that I think was the greatest influence in my ability to ask him to be my teacher. I think that if the first possible teacher that I met hadn¡¯t been him, and if I hadn¡¯t had all these experiences to show me this guy¡¯s habits and true personality, despite all my plans, determination and stubbornness I probably would have been too scared to ask him to teach me. While I had always admired the ¡®hero of the war¡¯, the man the rumors had portrayed. In the end they were after all just rumors and rumors can easily be misleading. Besides many of the hero¡¯s admirers didn¡¯t seem to be of a decent sort and like that young noble who had challenged the dojo used his achievements as an excuse for their own superiority and villainy. The hero hadn¡¯t sided with his so called fan but with his dojo which he had only been a student at for a few months, and he had even defended not only the dojos honor but my father and mine as well. Thinking about all this while sitting in my room after I ran away, I felt a bit sickened at my actions basically I was taking advantage of his nature in a way that had nothing to do with him being a man. I decided then and there to talk to my father about it and hear his thoughts. Either he would give me assurance or scorn but hopefully it would stop my floundering or ease my guilt. I immediately stood and started walking to where I knew my father would be at this time of night¡­I quietly snuck through the dojo hoping that I wouldn¡¯t wake anyone and carefully opened the door to my father¡¯s room and then even more quietly an cautiously closed it behind me¡­but as I started to move towards the screen doors that led to my father¡¯s private peace garden I stopped as I realized they were open. Looking through them I saw my father and HIM. Unexpectedly they were casually sitting there drinking tea, but just as I was about to announce my presence or leave my father asked him a question. ¡°Have you ever heard of the name Ronald Swordarm?¡± Volume One Chapter 7: Grandpa Ron Spoiler : OK I shall now show you some art examples that I have made so far: So there are two Wills I could make them in more colors if anyone is interested¡­ Grey Will Blue Will I warned you about me and character portraits, didn¡¯t I? Anyway here are the others¡­ Enchantment Simple but I don¡¯t think it is too bad, in case you can¡¯t tell the white stick is a wand Magic Fight Megacrazy44 I don¡¯t know if it counts but I did add ¡®fire¡¯ and ¡®ice¡¯ to my original idea -which was somewhat plainer So obviously if I decide to turn any of these (or future ones) into a cover I will add a title to them plus edit them in attempt to make them look better/more professional sorry about the badness of this chapter...hopefully I will get better at writing as I go along...I also intend to eventually edit/get an editor Grandpa Ron (Vanessa Swordarm) ¡°Ronald Swordarm...? I am not sure. It is possible but I have met many people and I am sadly not gifted in remembering names could you give me a bit more information?¡± Will frowned as he drank some more tea My father then laughed exuberantly and said ¡°Trust me if you had met him you wouldn¡¯t have forgotten him. More information eh¡­let me think. His preferred weapon is a large blood red katana and his main element is fire. He is quite the tall fellow, almost as tall as you in fact. He has white hair, and embarrassingly enough most mistake him as my son although he is actually my father. He is by this country¡¯s rule of measurement a grandmaster and his level on the immortal path is saint¡­¡± Will upon hearing of their relationship and close appearance, turned and carefully studied my father¡¯s face closely then he closed his eyes for a moment. A few seconds later they opened wide in shock ¡°Don¡¯t tell me?! You aren¡¯t talking about Bloody Bonney Ronny are you?!¡± My father burst out into laughter that this time was even louder than before. ¡°Ha ha if I didn¡¯t put faith in your word then I would do so now. You are definitely from his generation ha ha¡± he set down his tea and nearly rolled on the floor with laughter he had a childish appearance that I had never seen on him before. Will turned away from this shameful sight and sighed deeply, he gracefully also set his tea to the side, and waited patiently for my father to finished his antics. When he saw that my father was finally starting to calm down he said ¡°Well actually I am a little older then that but it you are really speaking of Bonney Ron, I guess I can admit that I do indeed know of him. Actually presuming Selina is your mother, I have went on several adventures with both your parents¡­actually presuming Selina is your mother that explains a lot about your daughter¡­¡± My father looked a bit stunned ¡°¡­you went on adventures while my father was still with mother?! Then¡­as their adventure group was four people and the 3rd was The Marvelous Magician Madeline¡­you must be Madeline¡¯s unofficial apprentice ¡°The Old White Dragon¡±.¡± Will said a bit humorlessly ¡°¡­Actually I didn¡¯t have anything to do with Madeline¡­but since in my youth I had made a mistake similar to your daughter¡¯s and was actually Selina¡¯s official apprentice¡­I can understand why your father didn¡¯t want to admit that." My father spluttered and started laughing again, in between gasps of mirth he chuckled. ¡°So old man, in reality that White Dragon you greatly admired and that ¡°Wiley Weasel¡± you were so jealous of were actually the same person?!¡± After laughing a bit more he stopped and studied Will¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t really see what he was so afraid of¡­¡± Will shrugged then smirked and said ¡°I am told that I am at my best when I am using magic. ¡° When father got a thoughtful look on his face he nodded and then continued with ¡°It got to the point where your father suddenly decided that it was a competition between my magic and his martial arts and started shunning the use of magic¡­by the way your reluctance to let the young miss use magic isn¡¯t because of such a stupid reason right? If so I would be most disappointed.¡± Father sighed most deeply and then said ¡°No, it is not that I dislike magic. My attitude results firstly because of the discrimination that magic creates because for the majority of people you can only become decent at magic if you are wealthy. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Secondly as my father is a prime example of, it is extremely hard, almost impossible to follow the path of immortality if one is just a mage, while almost anyone has a chance at, at least living longer if one follows the path of a physical fighter. And when it comes to my daughter¡­besides wanting the best for her which includes a long life¡­Since it doesn¡¯t look like I am going to be able to climb any further up the path of immortality then I have been able to¡­and I am not sure that I want to try since my wife is no longer in this world. This dojo has a history of over 200 generations and I would be most ashamed if I was the one that ended it.¡± Will nodded in understanding, while I still hidden behind the door pressed my hand to my mouth in order to hold back a sob as a few tears fell down my face. There was quiet silence for a while then just as Will once again reached for his tea, my father yelled in sudden realization startling him into knocking his cup over. ¡°WAIT A SECOND!¡± father stood up and will gave him a dirty look, while coolly waving his hand and making the spilled tea vanish while I inwardly sighed in admiration and jealously at his magic. ¡°¡­Once we heard the results of the war my usually lazy father who had bought his way out of the requirement to join the army with magic creature cores, suddenly got very agitated and then after lecturing me and my daughter for a few weeks told us that he was going on a training journey to also become a hero and left. At the time I was a bit confused as he said something strange like he was going to ask my mother to be his master, but now that I take what you said into account it makes sense! He was jealous of you being called a hero while using magic that made it seem like you are doing martial arts¡­so he left to learn magic and become a hero in order to one-up you!¡± Hearing this Will started laughing even harder than father had early to the point where he was banging his fists on the ground¡­ ¡°What makes it funnier¡± he wheezed ¡°Is that I unknowingly came here to learn martial arts¡­ha¡­it¡¯s like we¡­gasp¡­switched places¡± Also realizing the humor my father joined in the laughter. I was a bit stunned at this idea¡­I myself have never met grandma but she was said to be not only a powerful immortal mage many times older then grandpa but also one of the most beautiful women in the world. It seemed like the two had a most tempestuous relationship where every decade or so they would get into a big fight and separate for up to half a century before making up and getting together again. The last fight they had, had to my knowledge had been before I was born and so my grandfather leaving to go back to my grandmother after less than 20 years had seemed a bit premature. I had secretly begged my grandpa to take me with him¡­but it made sense that he refused as to him it would be embarrassing for his granddaughter see him try (and likely fail) to learn to use magic. I didn¡¯t quite find it that humorous as those two did but I still did find it a funny idea. Eventually they calmed down once again and Will started a conversation about my grandfather¡¯s surprisingly low self-esteem¡­and after that they just started some random small talk¡­ Just when I was starting to get bored and was even nodding off¡­Will got up and made his polite goodbye to my father¡­unsurprisingly my sleepy head was slow to realize what this meant and when Will walked past me I was startled into full awareness. But Will didn¡¯t seem at all shocked to see me. I blinked up at him once again, shocked anew upon realizing his tallness. He was despite the training he had been doing thin to the point of being mistaken as a scarecrow. He had curly pale blond almost white hair, very pale skin. And a most average and plain face excepting maybe his brilliantly vivid blue eyes. He lifted one long fingered pale claw like hand and curled it into a fist, except for one finger which he placed to his lips in a ¡®shhh¡¯ gesture. He then grinned and beckoned me to follow him out.
Vocabulary/Supplementary Information: Magic Creature: Most monsters are Magic Creatures but not all Magic Creatures are Monsters. As they are ''Magic'' such creatures usually form a crystal inside them called a ''magic core'' which has various uses. Basically any non-human creature (excepting such races as elves) that has magic. Some magical creatures posses souls and are able to follow the Path of Immortality Magic Core: Usually just referred to as ''core''. It is a type of crystal that can be mined in places with high concentrations of magic or found within magical creatures with high amounts of magic. Threat Level: Monsters and Magical Creatures are usually measured by their potential threat level which goes mischievous =>misfortune=>tribulation=>disaster=>calamity=>cataclysm=> apocalypse Immortal Path: As it sounds a way to achieve immortality. While Rank is a way of measuring skill, the immortal path measures magical power among other factors. As hinted it is rare that one achieves grandmaster in rank without at least achieving blessed in immortality. Unlike humans elves and other magical races are practically born immortal and thus it is rare for them to follow the immortal path for immortality. The immortal path relies on gaining insights and making achievements to move forward, thus it is easy to understand why it is harder to do so as a mage. (for a human) Blessed (10-20 additional years)=> Saint(50-100 additional years) => Demigod(100-200 additional years)=> God(500-1,000 additional years)=> High God(1,000-5,000 additional years)=> True God(10,000-1,000,000 additional years)=> True Immortality Volume One Chapter 8: A Nighttime Stroll A Nighttime Stroll (Vanessa Swordarm) Spoiler : :blush: : Sorry...I am ashamed to say that I forgot to post this chapter...despite the fact it was done and intended to be posted days ago... I have a theory that the reason is the chapter is so embarrassing for me that my brain conveniently forgot to remind me to post it...but that isn''t much of an excuse right? I will have to do something to make it up for you guys...anyway apologies once more here is the chapter: I followed him through the dim rooms of the silent dojo. I noticed that he was surprisingly quiet if I couldn¡¯t see him I would say he wasn¡¯t there. Also sometimes I even couldn¡¯t see him at all and I had to wait for him to get my attention and thus be able to see him again. We made our way outside then to my shock he started on the dojos walking trail. For a short while longer he continued with his strange silence then he suddenly stumbled and when he righted himself and he was his normal clumsy self. He glanced back at me and shrugged ¡°I think well when I am moving, but it only works when I go at my own true pace.¡± With his speed now much slower I soon was walking abreast and to the side of him. He looked at me again and had a strange smirk on his face. He nodded then continued ¡°I think you are curious about the difference between how I can seem to be and what I actually am?¡± Not wanting to admit that he was right about my burning curiosity I shrugged. Then unable to prevent myself nodded firmly. He grinned wider He then his smirk turned mischievous like he was sharing with me a secret joke. ¡°The answer is. As it so often is¡­Magic.¡± I soon stopped walking blinked several times kind of flabbergasted and speechless. Of course it had to do something with magic¡­he didn¡¯t really satisfy my curiosity at all. After taking a few more steps then I did he too stopped and then he turned around to see me blankly staring at him. He bent downwards and burst out into loud laughter before pressing his hands to his mouth and trying to get himself under control. He then held up one of his hands in a ¡®wait a moment¡¯ gesture. Still breathing deeply from his exertion of mirth he sighed then spoke again ¡°Before I came here I tried to get myself back into the habit of not using magic for every little thing including just walking around but¡­I am basically out of practice and that fight I had not that long ago didn¡¯t help matters. I just simply¡­slipped up.¡± He sighed again even more deeply and then turned to face away from me. ¡°Not so long ago I was in a position shall I say? Where I had to look strong, and look strong all of the time. My natural state of clumsiness would not have helped me in that endeavor at all, so I started constantly and consecutively casting various spells on myself that would correct my movements and force me to be graceful. It got to the point where I started to do it instinctively¡­¡± I wondered then if he was talking about something to do with his participation in the war as the ¡®hero mage¡¯ ¡°Anyway, tried to rid myself of this inefficient and kind of flashy bad habit but now and then sometimes when I let myself use magic, or when I become unbearably clumsy I end up instinctively ¡®curing¡¯ my natural state as you have already seen.¡± He said it was spells but I was still kind of disbelieving. I myself could somewhat sense magic but I haven¡¯t been able to sense anything from him at all. But when I gathered up the courage to ask as to how he was doing it he answered along with a laugh. ¡°Though I say I am curing myself it is not really exactly a cure¡­the nature of my magic and abilities are¡­let¡¯s say different from anyone I have met or read about. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The explanation is very complicated and confusing even no maybe especially those who have a background in magic education and I am not sure I can describe things in a way that someone like you could understand. I guess the best way to explain it would be to say my weakness are my strengths and my so called strengths are really my weaknesses. But to keep things simple and to tell you what you want to know I will just reveal to you that not even most high rank magicians can sense my magic, and the few ones that do are also high level immortals and I had to do a lot of preparation beforehand to force my magic out in such a way they could feel it." My brain slightly hurting from his explanation I just kept silent again and followed when mid-way through he started to walk down the trail again. Then when I couldn¡¯t stand the silence any longer I stopped and waited until he had moved a little further ahead to ask. ¡°I thank you¡­for trying to answer my questions but I don¡¯t think my curiosity is why you wanted me to follow you out here, and I and hopefully both of us have a lot to do tomorrow so¡­?¡± He stopped again and I held my breath, then gasped out when he slumped into the dirt, I quickly went up to him but sighed in relief when I realized he was just sitting down. He patted the ground beside him and when I gingerly also sat down legs folded beneath me, he snapped his fingers and suddenly there was absolute silence and I could no longer hear the insects the night owls or even the wind. I was a bit apprehensive as I had the realization that before now I didn¡¯t really understand what the word silence really meant. He smiled slightly which relaxed some of my nerves then said. ¡°There, now no one else will be able to hear us even in the unlikely event that there is someone there to eavesdrop.¡± He turned to look at the dirt and started fiddling with some grass growing on the side of the trail. ¡°I am a bit embarrassed to admit this¡­but asking you to follow me was a bit of a whim¡­¡± I bit my lip¡­this wasn¡¯t planed? He continued despite by obvious surprise ¡°You see all that talk about your grandparents¡­my¡­shall we say friend? As well as his wife who was one of my few teachers¡­it brought me back to reminiscing about my first apprenticeship and remembering something she said when she accepted my request to be her student¡­¡± ¡°Which was¡­?¡± I prompted him when he fell silent for a while ¡°Well¡­¡± he said and to my surprise he blushed a deep red color then covered his face with his hands. ¡°So¡­she¡­I¡­¡± he tried again and stuttered and spluttered and finally curled into himself I set my hand on his shoulder wanting to comfort him. He was obviously bent on discussing something that was a very uncomfortable subject. ¡°T-thanks¡± he murmured then taking a deep breath and then letting it out in a whoosh he peaked through his fingers at me, and I slid my hand off his shoulder making a fist on the warmth that still lingered. ¡°So to put the¡­cart before the horse so to speak. First let me say I want to give you some things to think on tonight, before I give my reply answer to your request¡­I have almost completely settled on my decision¡± Surprise and hesitant hopeful joy filled me¡­he wanted me to think about something which probably meant that the answer was most likely going to be¡­ ¡°This would be a lot easier if you didn¡¯t look so much like your grandmother¡­¡± he interrupted my train of thought going a bit red again ¡°¡­When I asked your mother, excuse me, grandmother to teach me¡­she took me aside and pointed something out¡­¡± he paused again but this time I held my breath and just waited what could she have said? While looking past me towards something that was probably nonexistent he managed to continue. ¡°She said to me¡­that I was male and she was female.¡± Volume One Chapter 9: Male and Female Spoiler : OK this is to be the base of what is soon to be the cover of this fanfic hope you guys like it :) Male and Female (Wilhelm Dragonsong) I couldn¡¯t stop blushing. Now please don¡¯t judge me for this. I have always been a somewhat awkward person when it comes to people. The only real exception for me in this case would be perhaps children and this is mainly because as I have found compared to adults children tend to be less expecting and judgmental. I hadn¡¯t planned to have this conversation with her but after that chat with her father I both remembered the past and came to a realization because of it. Plus it seems to be almost an unofficial tradition to do so in cases like this one. It isn¡¯t that I am innocent or unknowledgeable it is more like I am just somewhat ignorant in the ways of people, and while my physical clumsiness doesn¡¯t bother me particularly as I don¡¯t see it as a weakness my social clumsiness does. Geeze, on top of being embarrassed for the subject matter I am now getting embarrassed about my embarrassment. The last time I can remember being so embarrassed was many years ago, I was a young man who had just ended their apprenticeship for various personal reasons and decided that now that I could actually do magic, some official instruction wouldn¡¯t be amiss. The incident happened not long after I was assigned roommates at that magic school. To give you some background (as well as put off describing the event for a bit longer) unlike my current country the location of that school was in a land where magic was a common everyday thing so much so that almost everyone knew at least the basics and most institutes of higher education were magic colleges. Thus strange as it may seem I was considered a bit old when I went to that school as I was officially an adult. I was certainly at least quite a few years older at least chronologically then most my roommates. That¡¯s why I theorize that they assumed that I was world wise. As for myself I had not interacted with many people outside of my family, my former master and friends and only very casually with other people. Though I had read quite a few books all of them up to that point were dry technical beasts without flaw or humor. So¡­when those kids started up a discussion with me about how they greatly desired to discuss the birds and the bees with the butterflies in the red lights district¡­I took things completely literally. For quite a while I was under the misapprehension that the town had some strange magical park were you could find huge glowing red lights and plethora of giant insects that could sing and dance. What made things worse was that I was under the impression that it was something that ¡®everybody¡¯ knew about¡­so I pretended that I also did, thinking I was saving face and fooling them. Actually I truly did seem to manage deceiving them that I did indeed know what I was talking about. It was something of a lucky accident because ironically while I didn¡¯t know the slang they were using. I did know exactly what such things were, and in probably in much greater detail than those boys fantasized though I had never personally experienced them for myself or desired to do so. So happily I thought that I had mostly avoided being seen as a fool. Then finding out the truth of my mistake, not only did I see myself as a fool (which is even worse than others seeing you as a fool). The situation got worse to the point where I felt like I could die of embarrassment, when a trait one of my ancestors passed down to me activated and made me make a fool of myself in another but equally mortifying way but this is really getting off the subject so I should definitely stop rambling on like this and talk about what happened. *** ¡°She said to me¡­that I was male and she was female.¡± I paused and looked at her from the corner of my eye the girl had a most blank expression. Not wanting to feel her emotions I had gotten the tightest grip on my senses than usual. However I was somewhat good at reading faces so I was glad though wary that she didn¡¯t really have anything for me to read. Thinking that such a state could change at any moment I looked back down at the ground In order to have the will power to continue. I gathered up my strength as well as my breath planning to get the whole speech done as quickly and as soon as possible. ¡°She said that a master apprentice relationship or at least¡­a proper master apprentice relationship was one of the most intimate relationships possible especially when it was magic being taught. Not only does one have to share copious amounts of time with another person, one tends to learn many things about the other person and about oneself that you didn¡¯t know before and would have never have known otherwise. Then there is also the fact that unlike a plain teacher student relationship, where the teacher is usually making information found in books more palpable and most everything is public and involves at least two students and the students teach each other at least as much as the teacher does. In the case of a master they mainly teach things only if they personally learned them. It is also almost completely one on one and often involves trade secrets. It is a very private thing and normally the master will give an apprentice things that they would never give an ordinary student, and the apprentice has to tell the master things they would tell no one else, but they have to because it is required that the master knows them in order for the apprentice to get the best results. It is also quite common that if the apprentice makes a discovery or accomplishment of some sort while still being a pupil of the master the master will get at least some if not all of the credit, and in return any past achievements the master has will rub off on the student. This is because as soon as such a bond is made the honor of both apprentice and master are tied together forever and the actions of both their past and future will from then always have an effect on each other.¡° I pause here wondering what she was thinking of this remembering what I had thought and felt when my master had told me these things. I had been quite surprised as I had never thought of it in that way before. ¡°With such a close connection, it is not surprising when the apprentice develops great admiration and respect for their master, or when the master tenders pride and affection for their apprentice.¡± I stopped briefly once again here comes the beginning of the hardest part I thought. ¡°In the case where the two are of the same sex, such emotions usually end up making the pair become close friends. In cases usually where one is much more mature than the other they can even consider each other to be adopted family. However when master and apprentice¡­are of opposite gender such intimacy can be dangerous in a way, because either one or both will mistake such feelings for love¡­or because familiarity can breed attraction the two can fall into actual love.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I was sure that my face must have been quite red because my cheeks were burning I pressed my hands to my face hard as I prepared to say the worst. ¡°I know this a bit ambitious of me to say, because of my looks¡­but you should definitely¡­at least consider the possibility that at the very least at some point of time we might become attracted to each other.¡± Yes this is definitely a possibility we have to consider. I have seen many couples fall in love in similar or less intense circumstances and of those couples quite a few were not exactly considered pleasing to the eye. Also although I am the first to admit that I can¡¯t exactly be called handsome I do have other qualities that I know can be attractive to others. If I leave out my at least noble birth and near endless wealth, I have been told by quite a few that I have a strange sort of charisma when I fight or use magic excessively. My master said it was partly because women are attracted to strength, but I have another theory to add to that. It is kind of strange that while I have several races known for beauty in my heritage, I myself do not really show it, making me definitely a black sheep. But I think that just because it isn¡¯t normally visible doesn¡¯t mean that I somehow lost that inheritance but rather that it is in hibernation, and occasionally wakes up due to stimulation. I have some evidence for this theory of which my looks and charisma were only a small part. Mainly it has to do with why I can only use some kinds of magic sometimes but I am getting off the subject again. You may have noticed that I mainly pointed out my looks and left hers out. Well let me say that what my master said somewhat put me off the subject, actually her speech was a bit different then mine. ¡°I am so beautiful that you will definitely fall in love with me ha ha ha, so if you can live with the jealously and anguish of me never loving you back, then I won¡¯t mind taking you as my apprentice!¡± Yes I distinctly recall her saying something like this. At that time if I hadn¡¯t thought that she wasn¡¯t the best and strongest mage and teacher, I probably would have walked away from becoming her apprentice then and there, but I am glad that agreed despite my distaste because not only was I right in her being one of the best teachers I ever had, events led her to wish that she had never said those words. My main annoyance with my master¡¯s statement was the thought that one only falls in love if the other has a nice appearance. A belief I find most ridiculous personally, for I at least have yet to even have so much as a crush let alone fall in love. While Vanessa is I admit very beautiful. In truth I have seen many beauties and did not carry so much as a torch for any of them, and that includes my old master who was at least as beautiful as her granddaughter. No at least in my case, falling in love did not come from beauty but personality and intimacy, and being of the opposite sex. Which is why in this country¡¯s older era if one asked a prospective master formally to be their apprentice while of the other gender it was basically considered the same as a marriage proposal. I had no plans to illuminate her of this fact, there was no need to make her feel embarrassed for such an ignorant action. In my opinion it was nothing to be ashamed of, in fact I empathized with her, having made the same mistake but am still continue to pay dearly for it¡­my former master still teases me about it to this day. However I wonder if I wouldn¡¯t be as willing to do this favor for her if like my master and other many other people making others feel pain and or embarrassment gave me pleasure. Glad that I got the hard part over with and done sorting my thoughts I slowly looked up to see her still frozen in the same position she had been in, however as an indication of her humanity she was also blushing though not as greatly as I was. ¡°Ehem¡­well did you hear all of that¡­did you understand what I said¡± I asked just to confirm I didn¡¯t have to repeat that torture ¡°Y-yes¡± She squeaked ¡°I understood I mean I understand!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I nodded already recovering¡­ ¡°Besides that concern there is another even more important thing that I need you to consider¡±. I said ¡°What is it?¡± She asked looking so excited that I wondered if she was thinking I was going to bestow on her some great secrete¡­well that idea wasn¡¯t entirely wrong though it wasn¡¯t exactly a secret. ¡°How much do you want to learn magic?¡± I asked ¡°What?¡± she said confused ¡°How much do you desire to learn magic?¡± I repeated ¡°Let me explain. I know from your schedule the personal experience of you teaching me that you are very devoted to martial arts. In martial arts ones has to have a lot of dedication in order to be good at it. However¡­when comparing it to learning magic specifically learning magic with the intent to master it as much as possible it requires many times the dedication and devotion that one is required to give to martial arts.¡± I closely studied her face to see if she was surprised but she just seemed thoughtful so I continued ¡°Though I have had many students I have yet to have a single apprentice, and if I take an apprentice that person can¡¯t be halfhearted or even a bit uncertain when it comes to their willingness to learn magic. As I myself am taking a break from the magic world to learn the sword, I am willing to make accommodations right now for at least a few years on the time spent learning magic, I will even help you deal with your father.¡± I nodded at the slight smile she had then held up a hand for emphasis before seriously saying ¡°However if and I mean if I take you on as my apprentice I will only do so if you stop eating breathing and sleeping being the vice master and top warrior of your fathers dojo and make time to become the apprentice of a wizard and with at least as much resolve and dedication as you have been putting into your martial arts probably even more. Such a decision may even include having to leave the dojo for long periods of time. Right now as I said I am taking a break from magic but in the not too distant future I will have to return to my various obligations such as my teaching positon at the magic school as they are considering this a sabbatical, and after I am done teaching and if I still have an apprentice at that time I may have to leave to other lands and my apprentice will have to go with me. There is also the nature of the definition of the apprenticeship to keep in mind but you probably already have an idea of what it entails. Basically part of the apprenticeship oath and contract is to be reasonably obedient and to not do anything against any rules the master may set out or to do any actions if it greatly goes against the masters beliefs or dishonors them in some way ¡± I could tell that she was a bit afraid of what I said but as she didn¡¯t take back her request I decided to continue to give her a chance ¡°As I think I have already said, you need to carefully think about this and whether an apprenticeship with me is what you really want. Take as much time as you need and when you have absolutely no doubts come to me and I will either take your oath and sign a contract to be my apprentice or accept your apology of not taking such a solemn thing seriously.¡° Volume One Chapter 10: The First Step The First Step (Wilhelm Dragonsong) A few days after our conversation, Vanessa came to me where I was training and after giving me a few tips and instruction as if it was any other day. She said as if it were a side note. ¡°I am ready to give you my response¡± So after setting the date for the possible ceremony as the next day and confirming with her the idea of her kneeling speaking first if she wanted to be my apprentice but bowing low and staying silent if she wanted me to refuse for her I started to get nervous. You may wonder why I have never had an apprentice before, but there are no dark secrets as to why it¡¯s mainly because I have never been asked. While I was a teacher it was considered somewhat rude to ask a teacher to become your master. The theory being that they were already ¡®almost¡¯ masters to many students already. Thus it was a lot more common to simply let them remain just your teacher and ask them to become your adviser. In this way you got some of the benefits of an apprenticeship but with none of the strict obligations. Also while I eventually became somewhat popular as a teacher I was not known for one on one tutoring sessions but rather for my ability to make my lessons easy to understand and learn to a large variety of students at time. As I have said before I am usually awkward when it comes people and my students were not an exception. It was more often that the teachers who were charismatic as well as social who frequently got the requests to take students on as an apprentice. Then when I went public in this country for the first time and became the ¡°mage hero¡± most potential apprentices were too intimidated by my inflated deeds to approach me. Both before and after the war I actually did get a few requests but I don¡¯t count those as none of them I consider valid. Some of them were done as joke or a dare, I don¡¯t think the requester really meant it. A few others did seem mean it but it also seemed like the main cause of their sincerity was that they just wanted me to give them easy grades, or later on because they wanted some of my fame. Of course I couldn¡¯t for a moment consider making those kinds of people my apprentice. If no one asked then there was just one other way that I could get myself an apprentice and that is if I asked a prospective person instead. But besides my lack in socialness, making such a thing daunting to begin with was that I also never saw any people that I thought would be worth it to ask. That is I didn¡¯t see anyone who seemed like they could use my knowledge. The few that I thought about usually just joined a school or guild long before I would think about asking and didn¡¯t seem to need anything supplementary. There were also a few children or young adults whose current training and learning styles really matched mine however they had neither the talent nor the dedication it took to make up for it, and I really disliked the idea of taking on a lazy apprentice, doing such a thing I felt kind of defeated the purpose of having an apprentice in the first place. Finally unlike some human mages I didn¡¯t need an apprentice. Besides taking care of some of the workload the main purpose of having an apprentice was to ensure that your spells, magic recipes and methods continued to exist in the world. First of all I kept very little of the magic I invented a secret, I told or taught most of it to anybody who asked and in the case of my students some who didn¡¯t ask. Second of all having inherited several kinds of immortal blood within me, as well as an almost instinctive grasp of how to continue down the immortal path, I was far from being able to die of old age, and I was cautiously optimistic enough to think that the possibility of my death by other means was low. I currently had no need for any kind of heir. Some of the more mortal wizards had hang ups on only letting family inherit their wealth and magic, and some of those were so devoted to their magic studies that they never had the time to have a wife and or child in this case I could see why it would make sense to have an apprentice on whom to pass down your material and immaterial goods. While I rarely see them my family was actually quite large and if I were to die without any kind of heir the greedy ones would probably immediately swoop in to insure that none of my possessions would go to waste. The reasons I seriously considered accepting vice masters or Vanessa¡¯s request was because primarily because she asked. The secondary reasons was I had nothing against her personally and she seemed a decent sort of person, plus if she gave as much a fraction dedication towards magic as she towards her duties in her father¡¯s dojo she would at least become a better than average mage. Finally I had a reason that was a bit selfish, as I¡¯ve mentioned this was basically only a short vacation or sabbatical. After year or maybe two if I was lucky I would have to stop coming to the dojo mostly because I wouldn¡¯t have enough time, but if the talented vice master became my apprentice it was practically like taking the dojo with me and I could probably find the time to continue to learn about the sword. There were even ways were I could teach her at the same time as she was teaching me. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Of course the reason most of you would automatically assume and one that I would never ever admit to is because she is a young girl that is nice to look at. Actually more than nice to look at¡­those who do not think I want her for myself are sure to have the inkling that I bought her company in order to look impressive. Let me say again THIS WAS NOT THE REASON!! AND NO I DON¡¯T THINK I AM PROTESTING TOO MUCH!!! But if I had to admit to agreeing to this for shallow reasons or dying. I would probably say that her ¡®insides¡¯ hold more attraction to me than her outsides. No don¡¯t look at me like that! It is not what it sounds like! Not those sorts of insides the other kind. What I mean is that she is a- er I mean she is of good moral fiber. Plus she smells nice and not just physically but her soul. Her soul is a particularly clean and bright one. Quite beautiful really, especially when I use my eyes and ¡®that¡¯ sort of vision. But to ¡®ehem¡¯ (cough cough) get to the point I suppose I shall explain what I am doing right now. It was now the ¡®next day¡¯ and as such I was currently standing in front of the dojo in one of my simpler sets of mage garb. It isn¡¯t my most impressive of my garments but it also isn¡¯t as recognizable as the clothing that I wore as a teacher or when battling as it isn¡¯t quite as old fashioned. Basically it consists of robes and a hood however unlike the others mentioned this one does not have a robe that covers the face, and the sleeves are only long enough to reach up to the wrist Although like most of my clothing it white. It isn¡¯t a ¡®blinding the eyes because of the dazzling brilliancy white¡¯ you can find on some of my more expensive and elegant clothing, but rather a ¡®not dark enough to be grey¡¯ color that even the minor wealthy can easily have. Though the material isn¡¯t some rare silk, it isn¡¯t some common linen either, but rather a mix of various cotton species that would be hard to find in this land as it isn¡¯t a land that trades with outsiders often. Both the material and the weave is of strong make that wears well. In the past I guess you could say that, it was the basic ensemble that I would wear while traveling or adventuring. However going out in full regalia even during an important occasion as the possibility of taking on or refusing an apprentice just felt a bit to overblown to the point of embarrassment considering my identity and the location. However as a nod to the specialness of the occasion I had around my waist a golden belt indicating my status as grandmaster mage to those who know of the ranks, and on it a large golden bead before the tassel indicating my status as prime wizard or in the slang term ¡®hero¡¯ to those unlikely rare few that knew of that. I also carried in both my hands one of my favorite staffs. I used often because of its great help with light and support affinity but the reason I was holding it now was for appearances sake as it was considered one of my more beautiful staffs. It was that dazzling white color that I mentioned and at the top was a glass orb that was so clear it could said to be near invisible, excepting when the light hit it and then it would absorb, amplify and emit that light. Yes my staff was rather flashy, which was why it was only one of my favorites rather than my most favorite, but today the flashiness worked for me rather than against me, because all of the dojo students as well a few ¡®fan¡¯s and their friends that knew about me after revealing myself last week, were all gathering in front of me and waiting mostly silently for me to speak. Even the Master was already there and I knew from his smug smile that he had guessed the reason why I was there and was expecting me to firmly and immediately refuse. I had moment of guilt but it was quickly quashed by the idea that I didn¡¯t know for absolute certain that she had agreed yet. So I decided to save my guilt for later when I knew if I deserved it or not. It wasn¡¯t long before there was a small commotion at the back of the crowd as students and hangerson quickly made way for Vice Master Vanessa as she walked towards me. She was wearing warrior¡¯s robes that were only slightly less white then my own and black slippers. They were of a fancy style and probably they were what she wore to competitions. I held my breath, as I waited for that first step she would take in making her choice. When she was just a few feet in front of me she knelt to the ground and said. ¡°Great one this lowly one is still awaiting your reply.¡±
Rank colors: Apprentice (white)=> intermediate (blue) =>expert(purple)=>master(black)=>grandmaster(silver)=>hero(gold)=>God(combo) Combo: means that a god can choose their colors, and the choice has to do with their style or personality rather than their skill. For example if one chose white and blue it does not make one of a lower level compared to someone who chose silver and gold. Volume One Chapter 11: The Ridiculously Long Ceremony Spoiler : Sadly something came up and this fic had to be pushed to the side, luckily it doesn''t to seem to have that many fans so there shouldn''t be that many people angry with me ;) Anyway once again here is my one-shot Bitter Blood and those that read Behemoth Rodeo may or may not hold a major clue/giveaway especially if they remember a certain character, because that character is not unrelated to one of the characters in Bitter Blood. Although I feel it is a bit of a failure hopefully you will still find it enjoyable to read it. The Ridiculously Long Ceremony (Wilhelm Dragonsong) It was my belief that one should only regret after a decision has not only been made but followed through. But although there was still a chance to back out in my mind things as serious as those involving oaths were an exception to that. In such cases one can easily regret even before the last line had been signed for they are matters involving honor. And with such a complicated thing as honor not only regrets but especially apprehension is inevitable. Such feelings are good things though for it ensures you never take the decisions that involve them too lightly or for granted. So at least some of such feelings is expected. In my experience only if your gut instincts are screaming at you loudly and often. Or perhaps achingly whispering to you at a low consistency that one should rethink making such a serious decision once the initial choice has been started. Hearing the expected question I was a bit uneasy but my feelings were nowhere near what it would take for me to risk the loss of honor let alone want to. So I steadied myself by controlling my breath until I was fell in a semi meditative state. Then I prepared myself to reply. This mainly involved adding a bit of power to my voice whilst keeping it in a neutral almost chanting rhythm. This was necessary for a grand magus such as myself to give events such as these prestige. Even though there was no one there learned enough to know what I was doing besides myself, I still did it out of principle. I didn¡¯t find adding my power to my voice that difficult a task, in fact I had had done it so often and for so long that it had become almost easy as breathing. The true challenge of this ceremony lay in the use and type of language. If one were to try and read the simplest aspect of any of these ancient rituals it would be difficult even if one is a scholar well versed in the ancient tongue. Even if you were reading the completely translated and simplified/streamlined version. This is first of all because apparently the ancient humans thought the more words the better. They would use twenty when really just one or two or even one would have accomplished their goals much better. This is partly for practical reasons. Because of their more primitive magic knowledge, during that time, the longer you drew a spell out the more powerful it would be, but it was also because obviously, large flashy bangs and whistles in your magic accompanied by other flourishes such as epic flamboyant hand gestures were fashionable. The other reason for the over complicated language was back then apparently they were all quite obsessed with honor and etiquette to the point that they would get touchy about the slightest things, and emotional to the point that they would kill for them. I myself was born just as the last remnants were starting to fade and as the human side of my family is quite old fashioned and slow to change I grew up learning a lot of it naturally. It was tiring and annoying at the time but boy has it sure come in unexpectedly handy in my chosen occupation. While it does take up a lot of time and it is extremely out of date, especially since the speed of magic casting has been getting quicker all the time but there are more benefits then you would think. First of all to ordinary folk it can bring the illusion that magic is greater and more mysterious then it really is which I am told can really come in handy if you want to convince a stubborn peasant type to do something, you awe them to the point that they become obedient. Second of all and more importantly tradition has its own magic. The more times something is repeated the more binding it becomes and the more powerful it becomes. When you perform a ceremony it is necessary if not at least convenient to incorporate some traditions as that way the ritual practically powers itself. This may change in the future as if eventually all civilizations do not come to an end modern times will surpass ancient times in length and new traditions will be more firmly formed. It is also good for impressing certain kinds of nobles and other wealthy folk with too much time on their hands. But even if they are impressed they usually don¡¯t know what I am saying, I fondly remember this one time I insulted this one arrogant noble pup to his face and he thanked me for it. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Obviously I am not going to treat my almost apprentice in the same way. Whenever I say I spoke in an ancient manner the words I share with you are far from being the ones I had actually said. This is definitely for your own good as the language is enough to give anyone headaches. Actually when I spoke to Vanessa while out loud I was speaking the mostly dramatic nonsense that was an ancient styled ceremony I was also translating at the same time in my head and then telepathically sending her the translation as well as the responses she should when necessary but as simplified as possible. ¡°I am honored to accept you as my apprentice¡± is what I basically said if you cut out all the flowery prose about just how honored I was and why I was honored and why she should be honored etc. To give you taste of the prose I shall attempt to translate it again here more exactly7=despite my burgeoning headache: ¡°Verily pleased stand accordingly this greatly lacking in emendable self that thou hath answered mine hopeful beckons whilst advocating thine peaceable side to thine nature in addition to your obvious firm delightful patience and so to ¡­¡± oh never mind. But to continue just when I had nearly succeeded in the great feat of getting that large mouthful out whilst translating and conveying it to Vanessa I had a slight slip when I felt the surprise of the crowds and the stunned shocked anger of Vanessa¡¯s father. Though I had steeled my mind I still became slightly distracted but I quickly managed to get ahold of myself and blocked off everything except Vanessa and the ceremony. So focused on her was I that when she started the carefully les not she stumble reply that I fed her that was basically my acceptance in reverse and simplified I almost fell out of my trance again. Grabbing a firm hold of myself I listened carefully to her part which was not bad for what was probably her first time and started on the next part of the ceremony, which I had modified to both our benefits so that she would have as minimal of replies as possible. To continue talking about the words of the ceremony, after the long intro about honor and pleasure at acceptance I had to go into this long rant mentioning the history of apprenticeship (as far as was known) along with a lot of hinting about how basically what is good for the master is best for the apprentice. At this point in time to my surprises I nearly got Vanessa in trouble because apparently she found something about my translation hilarious but fortunately she was made of stern stuff and managed to pull through. The way I said it I was indeed joking but I don¡¯t see how my little comment about her being my master as well and thus it would be true for me also was so funny. After the long intro was the slightly shorter second part which was all about honor. How the master apprentice bond would tie our honors together so that whatever one did would affect us both. I grimaced inside as I vowed that if she did something to damage my honor I would take her to account. Although it may seem otherwise I don¡¯t really care that much for my honor and could easily live without it but as such a threat can help with motivation to act with honor and inspiration to avoid bad behavior for certain kinds of apprentices I included it, not knowing what kind of person Vanessa was and that it was mostly harmless. Finally the third part was basically what I considered the most important part of the contract because it got down to the details. It stated what was expected of us both in this arrangement and what would happen if one of us broke it. The apprentice would give the master loyalty and obedience. And their aid through their assistance with their masters work and sometimes their household chores depending on the masters station in life and whether or not they were sadistic. There was also an apprentice fee that was partly paid by the work but also needed in some material form. As informed Vanessa her fee was mostly to be about continuing to be my master in martial arts, she didn¡¯t object but I felt her amused incomprehension which I was fine with. In return the master would give their protection, their loyalty and of course most importantly by passing down their teaching all the skills that they have and what their apprentice needs. Finally after quite a while to the point that some people were snoozing as not even the power of my voice was enough to keep them awake it was time for the final part of the ceremony the sealing of the contract.
Chapter Notes; He is not originally from the land he currently lives in, and he is not completely human so he gets a bit confused on how to refer to the ancients he talks about because in his family they wouldn''t be considered ancients just folks who had been famous or infamous for their strange fad. But he is also considered quite young in that family so... Volume One Chapter 12: Contract Literacy Spoiler : It is so sad that it is took me so long to write this...hopefully once I pass this difficult point and get to the exciting bits I will be able to do a lot less badly in writing it...here is hoping anyway... P.S. I apologize for all the problems my writing has, for this series especially and in particular. I am hoping that eventually when I get better at it, one day I will go back and rewrite everything so it sounds and reads a lot better. Contract Literacy (Wilhelm Dragonsong) The final part, sealing the deal, as I¡¯ve said, was deceptively simple. All you had to do was basically state your names (titles if you had any) and that you understand and will abide by the contract. If you were smart you would plan ahead and create the contract in written form ahead of time. Otherwise you would have no choice but the contract to be a purely verbal one. The problem with verbal contracts when they were done as a ceremony like this one, was that it was a lot easier to make a mistake, and if you don¡¯t realize your mistake and correct it before the sealing you will have no choice but to live with it. I have heard of this one master who got the meanings for the symbolic phrases of master and apprentice mixed up along with a few other mistakes, but that one was the worst of them all. Basically he had gone for the obedience to your master above all code of conduct. Since his apprentice was as you might expect bad enough that obedience was seen as necessary, he ended up basically as a lifelong slave to the person he planned to make his chore boy and his every action was completely controlled by someone with much less magic power then himself. On the opposite end of the spectrum I know of many cases where the potential apprentice was illiterate and wouldn¡¯t even dare to think of even attempting to do a purely verbal contract. They just let their master prepare the paper without any input and then just naively sign it without further thought. At least the master in the first example was a seasoned and experienced old man who quickly learned how to subterfuge some of the rules and eventually managed to arrange for his freedom. With those many gutless folk they rarely escape a life of servitude and usually misery. Back in the days when contracts were more popular then schools, masters would just contract all their servants as ¡°apprentices¡± to gain perfect slaves that would never disobey. Plus sometimes they were so deceived that they became fiercely loyal and protective towards their masters. After all they were usually taken off the streets and were even being taught magic! Even if usually the little they were taught was something that even non mages could usually manage to learn on their own. Vanessa was lucky in many ways not the least was her choice of master. Though I hate to admit it, especially when compared to those morons mentioned in the examples previously I am probably far from being considered below average even in my worst moments. Part of the reason that an master apprenticeship relationship between a male and a female used to be considered the equivalent of a marriage especially when the female party was the apprentice, was that often the male would arrange into the contract, rules that would make martial relations a requirement. If the contract maker didn''t add in escape clauses into the part of obedience like I did, then the clause of obedience could obviously be abused in a similar way even if there was no specified rule that the two must become lovers. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She was also lucky in the fact that she had some knowledge of the formal tongue twisting ancient form of speaking. This I can only attribute to her grandparents. Though she seems to have spent more time with her grandfather, it is her grandmother who should probably get the most credit. It was completely beaten into me from my days with her as my master that literacy is very important. Now that I have much more knowledge about the way of the world, I would have to agree her even more then I used to. Education, specifically literacy is a great power, and source of protection to its bearer. For a long time in this country it was considered a senseless extravagance to learn to read especially if one was planning to go into a job where reading wasn¡¯t required, like being a warrior. It got to the point that if one had an education you would become embarrassed about it and try to hide it. Even the wealthy that easily had access to it sometimes would hire scribes to do their paperwork for them, and if you were of lower class in some areas it was impossible. But partly because of my unintended popularity and fame that I gained while being an education teacher, and mostly because of other much more practical reasons, this started to change. Nowadays most people of all social classes are encouraging their kids to at least get a basic schooling. However from what I have seen the prejudice and biases still linger in some places. Helping that way of thinking was the very traditional dojos. So I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Vanessa had been literate, but thanks to her grandmother not only she but her father and most of the older students were literate. Her being literate is very convenient and will save a lot of time as I don¡¯t have to teach her such time consuming talks as writing and reading. But don¡¯t misunderstand there are ways around making a strong contract without having to do it verbally or lack understanding on what exactly one is agreeing to. For example one can use an ink mark rather than a signature when signing a contract. However it isn¡¯t usually as binding. In some cases after the signer starts using a signature or a different method of signing then the mark they used the contract can even become void. If she was unable to make a signature I could have had her prick her finger and make a blood print. Contracting by blood is a lot more binding than a signature, and it has the advantage of being it is far less unpredictable then using a purely verbal contract. In magic when there is both a verbal and written agreement, the written almost always takes precedence. As I have mentioned, before this ceremony took place I carefully explained every facet of the contract to her almost word by word. And one of the caveats that I almost always add to my contracts is that the contract is not viable unless the person not only says they understand but truly do at least mostly understand what he contract involves. I took the precaution of quizzing her to make certain that she really understood, and right now I am taking the trouble to translate the contract/ceremony one more time for even more surety. Although I could use my ability with illusions to protect us from the embarrassment and dishonor of contract failure. I would also have to forfeit having at least this many witnesses to the ceremony. And as a lot of the reason I was doing this contract in the first place was to use the witnesses¡¯ power to help protect us from the magic as well as strengthen the contract itself. Failure would greatly lesson the usefulness of having a ceremony in the first place. So with large amount of hopes and even prayers that it would succeed this first and only time. I rolled out the scroll that contained the contract. Volume One Chapter 13: The Grand Conclusion Spoiler : Arg I have had such a hard time writing this...once again I am really glad that it seems like not that many people read this and even less people care about this, especially compared to RF. Otherwise I would probably have a riot on my hands with how bad I am botching this story up. Anyway to those who read this: you might not have to give up this story just yet because I have just thought of several new angles in which to take the story that will most probably turn things around. If you want more info on this subject please read the spoiler section of the latest chapter of RF . Anyway, my honorable condolences to poor I Reincarnated as a Hero''s Bad End. In case you don''t know it is my newest work, and because WMAW (this series) has held me up it has had to stay as just two chapters a prologue and a firsty and the prologue though very meaningful to me makes absolutely no sense to the rest of you...so basically it can only be judged by a single chapter. :( Also a warning to those who read any of my writing, all of them are works in progress and thus all of them are kind of sh**ty on the grammar/sentence structure side of things. The Grand Conclusion (Wilhelm Dragonsong) The scroll was made up of a large white parchment rolled upon a silver branch encrusted in various precious materials. However the paper, and even the ink on the paper are both worth more on their own compared to all of the materials combined. The parchment was crafted from the skin of a creature that probably no one else in this world has probably heard of even in myth. I use it often for my contract parchments because as the animal it¡¯s made out of comes from and greatly represents my homeland it is much more compatible with my strange magic and thus works a lot better than even if I used the most rare and powerful of materials this place has to offer. Unlike the parchment the inks contents was of mostly common materials, however there were a few uncommon and even some rare category materials that I had added in and which were no way inferior to the parchments origins. When I had first scouted this area, as was my usual way, I had taken the time to collect any useful materials I saw at the same time, and I had happened to be very lucky. I used some of the more rare materials to make a potion, recently I infused that potion with my power and then added it to the ink I had created fresh from grinding an ink stone by hand and mixing it with plain water. The water I used was taken from the dojo, the feather quill I used to write with I had stole-ahem borrowed from the master. I took care to create the ink and write the contract while on the dojo grounds. This was mainly to insure that the magics were compatible with Vanessa, as well as to tie that magic of the setting more gracefully into the spell design. When it came to the shape of the words written with the ink, I took care, so that unlike my usual scrawl, the calligraphy was perfect to the point that it could almost be considered art. Through I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to call myself an artist I do believe that no fault could be easy found in the decorations I had carefully arranged around toe borders. As I was thinking when I made them, one choosing to read this contract would be afflicting their brains with much trauma, but if they could have something else to look at whenever they wanted to take a quick break then perhaps transcribing it wouldn¡¯t be too heinous. Indeed I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the few people who remained awake and watching gasped after I had summoned the contract out of storage and were able to gaze upon its beauty. In fact after realizing that the more entertaining part was probably nye, some of the kinder ones in my audience turned to shake their neighbors awake. I carefully held it up in my hands carefully so that all the witnesses could see. I then said a bit more additional verbiage, for balance and consistency¡¯s sake, and allowed the contract to float out of my hands completely by lifting it solely with my magic power. I ¡®fixed¡¯ it in the air nearby at a height that was not much higher then what would be the ideal for Vanessa and at an angle that would make it easier to write on. I then summoned the quill and ink, letting them float next to the contract, and taking the quill in my hand I dipped the quill in carefully said a short speech stating what I was doing, then without hesitation and with a flourish I signed my own name. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The most common tradition was that the master would sign first though I occasionally heard of it being the other way. Whilst reflecting on this and together meaningless bits of knowledge I even more carefully inked the pen one more time before handing it to Vanessa while wordlessly instructing her to sign it. I almost held my breath as she did so, but apparently her grandmas lessons paid off for she finished her simplified version of the speech and made her signature without a flaw. I sighed inside in relief then happily started what I would like to title ¡°The Grand Conclusion¡±. Basically in order to encourage myself to this boring complicated stuff I decided to add a bit of fun to the end, a little light chicanery to awe the masses while relaxing myself enough to ensure that the contract would ¡®take¡¯ in the most optimal state. I don¡¯t know if you have ever heard or seen fireworks, but that was one of the main side effects that I added to my little almost improvised show. First mainly for the lights to be seen at their best I temporarily blotted out the sun with a darkness spell. Ignoring the gasps of the witnesses, I used the fact that most people were now unable to see to my advantage as I quickly ¡®tied¡¯ the last little complicated knot of the spell, stored enough magic in it to keep it sound for centuries without needed to use the atmosphere magic condenser I included in the durability and destruction resistance spells, and then ¡®ignited¡¯. Ignition is almost always beautiful but sadly I was the only one who could really see it and I don¡¯t really have the words to describe it except that it made my ¡®Grand Conclusion¡± look like a small time parlor trick. It also only lasted even less than a second, before ending so I could enjoy it without having to make anything wait. Just a few seconds after I had finished my admiration of the beauty of magic, the crowd gasped their first sighs of admiration. The fireworks danced in the darkened sky before dying in colorful explosions and flares of light. Since I had also added a bit to the sounds they made, so that instead of the plain terrifying bangs and whistles of an ordinary firework it was almost like hearing a symphony being played on alien though still lovely instruments. Though I had mainly done this bit of extra for my own stress relief /encouragement and fun there was also a third reason. I had added a stronger more featured version of the spell I had used when I revealed myself. Like that one it would prevent people of talking what they had seen but more strongly. Unlike the other one it was much more complex and would even make an exception to that purpose that would allow it to be told if certain conditions were met. The one who asked had to have something to do with mages in a governing caste or the equivalent level in the martial arts, they must have no evil intentions when they asked and it must be asked and answered in private place. Although one might think that it would be best to not allow the witnesses to share their experience at all, that was simply not really practical. If witnesses were not allowed the possibility of being able to bear witnesses it would invalidate most of their contribution as waitresses. Though it was necessary to allow the witnesses to be there I still felt uneasy so I also added spell aspects that would blur their memory of this event and me unless the information was needed, and I added a quirk to this part of the spell so that it would act sort of like a contagious disease and spread to other people and use the magic of the host to activate itself. Despite how this sounds the magic was perfectly humane as most of the time it ¡®rests¡¯ in hibernation and barely wastes any energy at all and if it did have to activate it wouldn¡¯t force the issue past a certain point so if one had enough will power or magic they could easily nullify it. However my intention was not prevent everyone being able to talk about it but rather just to reduce the amount of gossip as well as provide some protection. Another thing that I did was that right after my little magic show I had spirited her away through teleportation to a formerly prepared location. This was partly because of tradition, partly to protect Vanessa as she would be slightly more vulnerable as certain aspects of the contract would begin to affect her but mostly because I wanted to rescue her from her father who hadn¡¯t once even glanced at my lovely light show and had instead been glaring at me since the beginning. Volume One Chapter 14: Swords Are More Attractive... Spoiler : Sadly once again it is this fic that has been holding me up, for some reason I keep having trouble writing it...once again my apologies for the delay/slow speed/bad quality etc. Just glad that not not many people read this as I might of had a riot on my hands other wise... Anyway, even though this chapter isn''t that exciting I hope that at least a little of it is entertaining. Some of you dislike Will''s personality/style because you find his wordiness and obsession with details boring, well over time I am hoping to show how his somewhat stodgy ''scholarly'' mind can also be amusing if you look at his actions with humor that is. Swords Are More Attractive... (Wilhelm Dragonsong) To the others it had looked like I had vanished with that last flash of light soon after my apprentice did but actually I had only ran a bit quicker than the average eye could see, until I stood directly behind the master. I tapped him discretely on the shoulder and by the time he turned around to look at me I had already ported us path into his office. Being a marital artist close to reaching the immortal path and the master of a dojo he was made of stern stuff and probably had a variety of experiences as a youth to back him up. Despite the sudden change in retirement he just blinked a few times but otherwise seemed unaffected by the trip. Right after he recovered he attacked me. Or attempted to attack me, should I say. His hand went to his belt and he taped a decretive mark there, which instantly emitted a glowing light which turned into a sword, at the same time he rushed at me with what was probably his fastest speed, unfortunately for him I was faster. I can say easily and without shame that it was quite lucky that my level was more than reasonably beyond his. To someone just above his level or below he would seem quite terrifying. Sadly my strength is technically beyond grandmaster and while he is defiantly a master, even though I was a bit caught off guard to me he didn¡¯t seem dangerous. I also have been fighting longer then he has been alive, my instincts were so honed that I didn¡¯t ever think to act, I just reacted. A split second after he got within a foot of me he was pinned to the floor and his sword was in my hand. The blade quickly caught my attention and I studied it for a long moment. Not bad, I thought, it was made from decent dwarven steel with an even a faint touch of mithril. However the workmanship was what really gave it its worth. Its smith was probably not far off from becoming a master level in metal working when they made it. More mysteriously it seemed to my practiced eye that they had a gained quite a bit of artistic enlightenment when making the blade. In other words their sensibility was quite good even if their experience was not quite there yet to being considered truly great. As I studied the weapon from different angles I noticed that it had been enchanted with a spell to protect it from dulling and or rusting. However this enchantment wasn¡¯t of that great of quality and it was already starting to fray at the edges. I plucked off the gossamer haze of the fraying spell and started to make a much stronger magic ¡®fabric¡¯ from scratch. I had had just finished with the foundation and was about to start on the finishing touches, when I heard a small sound which distracted me from my work. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I glanced to the sides and then up before finally looking downward. And saw the Master lying on the floor struggling to breathe. Though he was almost completely immobilized by the pressure of my spell and wasn¡¯t able to speak, I felt as though the hatred of which he glared at me said volumes. Whoops, I had somehow forgotten about him. I was just about to apologize for my clumsy discourteous behavior, when threads of the spell that were still connected to the blade tugged at my attention again. I paused a moment and looked at the blade and then at my dojo master several times, but the attractiveness of the blade and my current slight irritation with the master tipped the scale and I easily made my decision. I returned to my enchantment work; Hey don¡¯t judge me! Besides it wasn¡¯t like lying on the floor for a little while longer wouldn''t hurt him. I carefully fine-tuned the last little bit of the spell and sealed it strongly to make it last as long as possible. I bet that this spell won¡¯t wear off for at least hundreds of years, I smirked to myself. Also I hadn¡¯t just refreshed and improved the sword. Oh no, actually I had completely upgraded it! Listen to its snazzy new features, besides its near invulnerability and near infinite durability I had also added in one of my still somewhat experimental alchemic spells. According to my research, if the spell functioned properly it would slowly gather excess magic and store it. Some of it would just act as a backup power source for the rest of the enchantments¡­but then some of it, yes some of would be used to trigger slight transmutation processes that would hopefully slowly transfigure some of the more ordinary materials in the blade into more rare ones, while at the same time act as a mechanism to acclimatize the blade to, the one who used it most. Essentially over time the sword should adapt and become much easier to wield as well as more powerful! Now completely satisfied from my refurbishment of the blade, I gently set it on the master¡¯s desk. Now that¡¯s much better, I thought to myself, I really disliked seeing shoddy spell work. Actually who did? Now able to properly focus on my real reason to be there, I walked over to Master and knelt at his side. Looking down at him and his continued glare, I asked calmly. ¡°If I let you up do you swear on your honor not to attack me?¡± He seemed to seriously think about this because he stopped glaring for a few minutes to close his eyes. After a short while he gritted his teeth and then opened his eyes and nodded lsliglhty at me. Snapping my fingers as a warning I released him and promptly sat up and started gasping for breath. ¡°I-¡°Huff ¡°-should have¡± puff ¡°known better¡± wheeze. He coughed for a few minutes and then taking some deep breaths he quickly got his breathing back to normal. He turned to me and frowning wryly said. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t he lay a finger on my dad while I was in my prime, how in the world did I expect to get anywhere with you?¡± ¡°Well,¡± I said, after a moments reflection ¡°I am no father but I suspect that your strong feelings for your daughter-¡° ¡°That¡¯s right I had forgotten.¡± He interrupted me in realization and upon remembering why I had pinned him in the first place, grabbed the collar of my robe and shouted in my face. ¡°YOU! HOW COULD YOU!!¡±
Note: The sword/magic Otaku alert is blaring right? Volume One Chapter 15: An Odd Discussion An Odd Discussion (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Spoiler : Well today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!! [th_091_-2.gif] Anyway I decided to celebrate by doing the Hobit tradition of giving people presents! So here is a chapter (hopefully I will be able to do another one by the end of December making this at least a two chapter release month, but no promises unfortunately) As part of the party I am even including a bonus illustration!! (OOOOH!) Done by me (Sarcastic yay) I know I suck. (please have mercy) I had better ones, and even one of will without the robage but unfortunately I couldn''t find them... So to conclude hope the gift is acceptable or in other words that you enjoy this chapter. ¡°YOU! I THOUGHT THAT I COULD TRUST YOU!¡± He yelled in my face, I said in a quiet but calm voice, a bit puzzled. ¡°But I think that you can trust me¡­¡± ¡°Then why did you do that!¡± He interrupted me. ¡°Why did you take my daughter as your mistress?!¡± Well it was because I¡­wait a moment say what? ! ¡°At the very least you could have married her!¡± Recovering from my shock I quickly stopped him before he could go further. ¡°Hold on! Wait just a second there.¡± I said. ¡°I took Vanessa as my apprentice! NOT my mistress. What are you talking about?! Are you insane?! This is not like the olden days, where the apprenticeship of this kind of paring was equivalent to an engagement. What¡¯s more only in the worst most dismal kinds of places was apprentice of a female student considered equivalent to prostitution. MORE IMPORTANTLY! I am not that kind of man! WHO NO WHAT DO YO TAKE ME FOR?!!¡± As I so rarely raise my voice, I tend to be a bit shocking when I do so, even for people who have known me for a short time usually are surprised, Master was no exception, he immediately froze and shut up. Seeing that he was more open to listening to me I continued with my argument in my usual normal tone. ¡°Besides, even if I wanted to that sort of despicable thing, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get away with it because in this country as well as in most of its allies it¡¯s illegal.¡± I could see from his expression that my logic had thrown him for a loop and somewhat calmed him down. Good, only I and one other person needed to know that the truth was that I could probably get away with things worse than illegal, and in style too, but he definitely doesn¡¯t need to know that, especially not now. Besides this wasn¡¯t a matter of capability but rather one of honor and justice. I paused in my thinking, wait a second. Honor should actually be more important to him then it is to me¡­something wasn¡¯t right. His reaction was a bit disproportionate and overblown and for all the wrong reasons. It couldn¡¯t possibly be just because of such a stupid misunderstanding could it? I decided to test him a bit. ¡°Master Ben didn¡¯t you listen to the reading of the contract part of the ceremony?¡± He shuddered in remembrance but nodded so I continued. ¡°With contracts, specifically my contracts, the side effects are never of permanent effect and it can never force a person to truly go against their will. And I assure you I did my best that things will be arranged mostly as Vanessa chooses to make it. And so if she ever decides to stop it, or return to you it can easily be arranged. You know just because ¡°some people¡± find great fulfillment in life by carrying out their duties and adhering to tradition doesn¡¯t mean that everyone finds happiness in doing so, and it doesn¡¯t mean your daughter would. And personally, right now I don¡¯t have any intention to marry your daughter, or even make her a lover let alone a mistress.¡± He seemed to struggle to speak and eventually got the words out, and despite his attempt it was obvious that there was no true anger in his voice. ¡°Wats wrong with my daughter?¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Nothing.¡± I immediately replied. ¡°They are very talented, and in many ways more than just the sword, and their talent in just the sword already nears to surpassing yours. Their potential for magic is not bad, and they have so much pure physical beauty that even this jaded me who has lived awhile is a bit affected. Plus from what I have learned about them so far they seem like a genuinely nice person that I feel that I will soon be proud to call my apprentice. ¡° ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you just marry her?¡± He asked wearily in a resigned voice. ¡°For at least three reasons¡± I held up three of my fingers in front of me in demonstration. ¡°First of all your daughter wants to become a wizard and she has already agreed to continue to strive in her swordsmanship, with a little hard work she will probably become someone extraordinary. While I am not one of those bachelors that believes marriage is a fate worse than death, and at least equivalent to imprisonment. I do think that marriage tends to tie a person down and removes many of their options and possibilities. I took her has my apprentice to give her opportunity. Why in the world would I suddenly take it away? Second of all I myself don¡¯t want to get married right now, to anyone there are various reasons but I don¡¯t think I need to tell you as they aren¡¯t that relevant to the situation now anyway.¡± The fact that, I was a little different in my shall we say ¡®romantic¡¯ preferences, and the fact that physical appearances had nothing to do with what ignited my desires, was the simplest and most innocent of my hidden reasons, but not only was it a bit too much to get into especially in a situation like now. It was also none of his business. ¡°Thirdly and not finally though I am not going into more right now, is your daughter¡¯s wishes. I currently have seen no sign that she is interested in me that way, so much so that I think right now marriage has never even entered her head. She seems to be at the age where chasing your dreams is the only thing you can think about, and I see nothing wrong with that.¡± My suspicions increased when he didn¡¯t say anything immediately in argument and instead just stood there not saying a word. He slowly turned his back to face me and I saw him clench his fists. Feeling a bit uneasy at his reaction I tried to test him again by saying. ¡°Besides In the future who knows what will happen? Maybe even one or both of us will change our minds. Who knows maybe one day she is the woman I will end up marrying. It isn¡¯t good to rush or put time limits, with these sorts of things isn¡¯t it best to keep things natural?¡± I heard him snort. ¡°Says the man who is taking my daughter away so quickly, without even the promise of grandchildren to keep me company in my old age.¡± ¡°Not so quickly.¡± I comforted him. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to leave for a while as my presence is not yet required anywhere, and I even if it is I don¡¯t plan to leave unless it is for a major reason or an emergency. Besides while you have not yet stepped on the path of immortality, I can sense you are quite close and even if you never break through, it seems you are far enough along that you will live for quite some time. You will probably most definitely see your grandchildren, even if I am not their father.¡± When he remained silent, I paused suspicious and curiosity increasing. While I sensed he was telling the through I knew it couldn¡¯t possibly be the whole reason, When I realized he wasn¡¯t going to speak I concluded. ¡°I am really not taking your daughter away from you, she is leaving the nest and by her own will.¡± He turned to face me again and I noticed with a bit of apprehension that his eyes looked a bit red. ¡°Well¡­take care of her.¡± He said in a most normal tone of voice. I firmly nodded my head. ¡°I swear by my soul that I will.¡± Now, that we got the basics over with, it was time to wheedle the real and complete truth out of him. But in order to do that, I felt that I could use some extra support, actually we both did. A little liquid encouragement would do nicely I thought and summoned, a bottle of what I believed to be some of my finest rice wine as well as two small cups. I handed him one and then poured us both a generous serving, before setting the bottle on the desk next to the sword. I took a small sip and sighed in contentment, he proceeded to do the same and then looking down at his drink he laughed and turned to me. ¡°All is forgiven now¡± he said. Volume One Chapter 16: A Real Reason A Real Reason (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Spoiler : So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all the rest of the various seasons greetings depending on your culture ;) I am sorry about this kind of chapter, I actually have quite a bit more but I wasn''t done with the ''bit more'' so I decided to post this first and maybe I will post the rest later soon. I nodded, in acceptance to what he said but kept my eyes peeled. I stood casually next to him leaning slightly on the desk and seemly content to just relax and slowly sip my drink, but hopefully hidden inside my curiosity was of course burning. I gave it a few more minutes and hoped that he would let down his guard. Then I, deciding to get into having my questions answered slowly started off by asking most casually. ¡°So I was a bit surprised that in your strange mood of yours you hadn¡¯t attacked me again when I let you up even if you did promise.¡± He nervously chuckled looking a bit sheepish. ¡°If I had thought I would be able to hurt you, even if I was only able to damage you by a scratch I would have mostly likely attacked you until the end¡­but¡­¡± ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t be able to harm even a hair of mine let alone damage enough of my skin to make a scratch.¡± I interrupted bluntly unable to resist baiting him, and was rewarded by a flinch followed by the darkening of his expression. I proceeded to engage in him in several more topics, and as soon as I believed that I had reached my goal of letting down his guard I asked. ¡°Why did your really have that reaction? I know your instincts are not that bad that you would attack me for such a silly reason. And if you really wanted someone to continue the tradition of your dojo that badly you probably would have adopted a more dedicated heir already.¡± I leaned in closer then said whilst narrowing my eyes. ¡°Despite the way you acted I just can believe you are stupid enough that you would even hold the idea that I was intending an unsavory relationship without daughter seriously, especially how during that nice welcoming party we had you hinted that you wouldn¡¯t mind if I married her.¡± ¡°Wel-l that was a joke of course¡­¡± He nervously stuttered. ¡°I know what it was, which is why I know your reaction was quite strange¡­so tell me. What is truly troubling you?¡± He seemed to think about it for several long silent moments then said in a resigned voice. ¡°So are you sure that you are not going to write off what happened as just the mad reaction of a father afraid for his little girl?¡± ¡°Well although I can use that reasoning to account for at least part of it, it still was just a little too extreme for me to believe that it was the only reason. Especially for someone of your character, your father daughter relationship just isn¡¯t that close. Don¡¯t misunderstand that is not an insult far from it, I included your daughter¡¯s nice personality and good morals as evidence what I mean is that you don¡¯t have an unhealthy enough relationship that I could really buy that theory.¡° He sighed deeply and for a long awkward moment there was silence. ¡°Fine¡­alright¡­I think I know, I realize that I can trust you with the real reason.¡± Then in a feeble attempt to lighten up, he said. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°If I can¡¯t trust the ¡®mighty mage¡¯, the ¡®hero of the war¡¯ then who can I trust eh¡­?¡± Seeing that I was neither laughing nor flattered, he shrugged and with a bit of struggle hidden in his words said. ¡°¡­you may end up mocking me for this reason but before you do please hear me out.¡± I nodded firmly my agreement, he drank the rest of the drink in one gulp and then with a small sigh collapsed onto the floor. He maneuvered his body into a meditative positon and clenched his fists. He started this time in a much stronger voice though his fists were starting to become white from the pressure of his clenching them. ¡°Not long after I lost Vanessa¡¯s mother her fate, I found myself just wandering the land, my great grandfather had yet to ascend and so I was free from duty and tradition except for my daughter. True I could have left her at my grandfather¡¯s place or my mothers, but she was the only thing I had left of my wife to remember her by and I couldn¡¯t bear to part with her and wander or stay with her and not wander so, I would carry her in a sling on my back. I am a bit ashamed to admit it but I would carry her with me everywhere and that even included taking her with me on some of my missions which was required of me because of the positon I took as mercenary at that time. It was partly in order to get by, I couldn¡¯t be running back home for money everytime I needed it right? I had my pride, but¡­it was also because work kept my mind off the tragedy that had happened to me. I able to give the self-sanction to those actions because I always chose the ¡®easy¡¯ missions, and as I made the excuses to myself ¡®at this level it¡¯s not I or she was in any danger¡¯, and this sad shameful existence continued for a while. Then it happened. I had just rescued a village sum scum level bandits when a old woman approached me and demanded that I and my daughter come and rest in her home. I at first thought that merely that she was just so full of gratitude she wanted to make what recompense she could as obviously neither she nor anyone in her village had any wealth. So I followed her without much resistance if any. There are times now that I often think I shouldn¡¯t have done so, at least I think I would have been far happier if never had. It was a small shack, though admittedly well made, it had a bed, a stove and not much else. There was a small table and a few chairs one of which I sat on. The woman to my surprise made no moves to make a meal or even look at me let alone speak to me. So for quite a while there was just this uncanny almost eerie kind of silence. Then when she finally did start looking at me I was quite startled as I hadn¡¯t even noticed. I remember her eyes were so strange, so youthful in her ancient face yet so fitting. I had no clue as to her true age, I had no ability to sense cultivation levels at that time, but judging by the wrinkles she was probably just an ordinary mortal as much as I came to doubt that theory later on. She asked to hold my daughter. I saw such yearning in her expression that I handed Vanessa over without even really thinking about it. She gently took her form my arms and carefully held her, like the baby was made of glass or frail ice. It was with the saddest of expressions that she looked at her. I had this thought that she was missing her own daughter or grandchild or someone of that similar relations and I felt quite a lot of empathy for her from this assumption. Sadly I was wrong." Volume One Chapter 17: Prophecy Prophecy (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Spoiler : I have been somewhat afraid to read comments recently...but I am soon going to get over myself and read and reply as usual. To do this I have made a promise to myself...soon I will have my revenge! Look forward to it muhahahhaha Actually you may notice upon reading this chapter that I did not include the actual words of the prophecy...truthfully I did make a prophecy but in my opinion it kind of sucks...and doesn''t really convey all I want it too. If anybody is interested I will post what I have... Anyway please enjoy the chapter :) update: Here is what I have of the crummy prophecy so far...hope it at least somewhat satisfies you guys... Talent found with ease will spoil and turn to rot if discipline she does not seize so search so search so search will the child always looking away always thinking away likely she will go to it likely will it reach to her oh young old one with the paradox that slumbers in your deepest self. kindliness shall you feed to her yet you refuse to taker as bride though you try to show her the better path you¡¯ll be betrayed by that growing pride will you become the key to her to our salvation or the tipping point of everyone¡¯s demise poor child who will one day become this worlds demise Then whims of fate dance quicker and faster The Master Shall become the apprentice and the apprentice the master balance then on blade edge neither plans you make nor bet¡¯s you hedge will affect the path for it is choice that will heal time¡¯s wrath silly girl let go of pride learn your lesson or face your fall and young old one with the paradox inside will you tip the scales to destruction become the delaying force or balance them anew Tangle yourself in a maze of your own construction either way while knowing you are the key to the end trust yourself but not the one who will betray will you make the choice to lead you will you break or will you bend Path that not lack doom Path that doom lack not See what I mean now about it not being that great? The Master''s eyes grew a bit glossy and he seemed to struggle with something, gulping and sucking in the air to calm himself of his boiling emotions. This seemed to actually be necessary as to my great shock, he was near tears, and as I have a certain¡­let¡¯s say gift. I knew his emotions to be truly authentic. I watched as he took many deep breaths before he continued. ¡°¡­the old woman¡­looked so pained so sad¡­as if under a great burden¡­and when she spoke the words seemed to hold more power than I could ever imagine words possessing it was if they danced in my head like sparking flames and then branded themselves there painfully as if they were made of real fire¡­¡± I clapped my hands. ¡°That was beautiful. I didn¡¯t know such superb language was part of your repertoire Swordsmaster.¡± I smiled as if his pain really meant nothing to me, and said as if in afterthought. ¡°By the way how do you know that she wasn¡¯t using some sort of glamor or such on you? Deceptions isn¡¯t directly my expertise but I know enough to know, that such sorts of magic are quite possible and useable even on the lower levels of wizardry.¡± This shook him up enough that it broke temporarily the spell of his memories and he was able to come to grips once more. His eyes widened in shock met mine. I continued in a snarky sort of way. ¡°¡­well of course if it was a mage on the same level as¡­you who was targeted they¡¯d probably also be fine even if they were a children, but I guess the rumors of swordsmen being nothing but a weak minded group of muscle heads was true eh?¡± ¡°Y-you!¡± He stuttered in anger. ¡°Yes what about me?¡± I said cheerfully. He shook his hand at me and said ¡°You promised to hear me out!¡± ¡°No, I just firmly nodded my head.¡± I said as I demonstrated the movement for him. Choked by his anger he became unable to even articulate what he was feeling and instead made spitting noises as he mimed choking gestures towards me with his hands. I nodded at him seriously, hand habitually at my chin as I pretended to think. When I next spoke I seriously replied to him as if he had been speaking words. However I only said a bunch of pointless nonsense like: ¡°I see¡­I understand¡­so you are saying that you admit the muscle headedness of warriors? Well I can¡¯t agree with you more¡­¡± Such was the line of the things that I said, I also tried intermixing a few more let¡¯s say ¡®adjectives¡¯ which were also somewhat obviously insults here and there, all of to which he could only stutter at best in response. But eventually I finally had mercy on him, and then said as if I hadn¡¯t interrupted in the first place. ¡°So in the end, whether or not the magic she used was consciously using her magic to influence you at the time is not the point, the point is what she actually said. So quickly please continue.¡± When he recovered from my trick and was able to think clearly again, he also realized just who he was speaking to and then other than huffing gruffly and looking exasperated he regained the ability to speak. Though he glared at me, I knew that my silly trick had helped him to lighten up enough that when he spoke again there was anger instead of despair in his voice which was to my mind an improvement. ¡°So spoke the old woman -and if you want more proof then her word then here it is also for I had never told her the name I had chosen for my daughter but yet she knew ¡®Vanessa¡¯ she said and said as said most bitterly.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Said as said, I smirked at such clumsily chosen words but just continued to wait silently. ¡°Vanessa¡± he said again with his own bitterness now included ¡°Vanessa of the Swordarm family, I weep for thee¡­¡± ¡°Did she really weep or was it dramatic rhetoric¡­¡± The strong glare in my direction at my interruption quickly shut me up and in mild attempt at pacification I mimed locking my lips and throwing away the key. To my surprise he seemed somewhat mollified for he satisfied my curiosity despite my bad behavior. Who knows? Perhaps he was even beginning to truly get know me and how I worked and wanted to nip the probability of future disturbances in the bud. ¡°In my humble opinion her tears and crying looked most authentic, but how I would know if it was otherwise? I am just a lowly muscle headed swordsman after all¡­¡± As he said the last a bit wryly, I felt happy as this made me think that he was beginning to catch on to my prior game and had begun to forgive me for it. Delighted at the thought of this hope I once more gestured for him to continue and he did. ¡°After crying over her for a time and lamenting whatever gruesome fate she saw¡­she handed Van back to me and said several times ¡®I must tell so you listen¡¯ then she leaned in close to me and said ¡®I beg you hear me speak.¡¯ Then she grabbed my free hand and squeezed it as she whispered¡­well it sounded like a whisper but strangely I could hear it more clearly than when she had been near too screaming ¡®even if you wish to refuse, as a man, and more importantly as a father prove your worthiness in your diligence and your duty as the one who sired this child who cannot yet hear and listen in her stead.¡¯¡± Looking a bit unsteady he stopped again and I froze in order to better hear, as I knew this was probably ¡®it¡¯ the time he would finally reveal the big ¡®important¡¯ part. The paused continued for a bit longer, and he tapped his hand against desk, at first I thought it was out of nerves but then I noticed the glowing outline of a ¡®secret¡¯ compartment on the wood as I also realized that the way he was tapping had too much tempo to be mere nerves. There was a small ¡®click¡¯ and then the square piece of wood moved forward revealing that it was actually the front of a small drawer. Inside were a few monster cores that were several times higher in level then the highest for this area, some higher denomination coinage, what I assumed by its magic patterns to be another space distorting storage object and a single small scrap of parchment that looked to be made out of animal skin. The Master proceeded to pick the last up and handed to me carefully as if the unassuming thing was precious. ¡°Here.¡± he said ¡°take this.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°What she said in its entirety¡­no her prophecy in full.¡± He sighed in almost a whisper and in a continued in a voice so low that I was lucky to not only possess the advantage of an above decent pair of ears but also the talent of lip reading. ¡°I wrote it down nearly right after I heard it, I left with Van in a rush ¡­I had been acting on pure emotion ...I think I was under the impression that if I fled her I would be saving my daughter from her fate¡­and by the time I came to my senses and went back to demand more details¡­the old woman¡­no the entire village was gone¡­¡± A prophecy eh? I didn¡¯t like the sound of that. But regardless I did say I would hear the details of this matter, so I accepted the parchment and began to read.
Vocabulary/Supplementary Information: space distorting storage object: As how it sounds, an object usually a ring, a belt or a bag that contains a much larger space within, usually created by some sort of space distorting magic. Some can only hold dead or lifeless things, some can hold plants also, some can hold most anything. Some freeze time, some slow time and some are connected to whatever time you are currently in. While there are some that are considered indestructible it is usually possible to be destroyed, in such a case either the things inside are lost to some other dimension or are also destroyed. There is a rarer third option where all the items that were inside the SDSO are just spewed out into whatever reality you are currently in but as most people are of the greedy selfish opinion that either they have their items or no one has their items the third option is rarely taken. There are also some horror stories where the item in questioned is cursed and eats or destroys some or all of the objects put into it, kills anything happening to be living or worst of all spews out embarrassing things at very inconvenient times. prophecy: A prediction of something that the prophecy maker believes will happen in the future, or at least guesses and infers that it will happen from some sort of vision that they think takes place in the future. Usually they are told in a poetic form and this can be done for various reasons. Those particularly talented in manipulation usually do it in order to obscure and distort some of it''s true meaning so that events will be more likely or less likely to come to pass. It is not uncommon to people to mistake the intention or meaning behind the prophecy in the beginning and then later realize their original determination was mistaken, and then later learn they were right in the beginning after all . Those really talented in making prophecies are good at designing their prophecy so that it seems to change it''s meaning depending on at what point the person the prophecy describes is at. Those extremely good at prophecy creation not only are good at customizing it to events but also to the individuals to which the prophecy has meaning. (see the spoiler near top of page in regards to what I have for this prophecy) Volume One Chapter 18: Regardless of Anything Regardless of Anything (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Spoiler : So, it has been a while I guess since I updated this fiction...it seems to go a lot faster then most of my other fictions, but strangely enough it is the fiction with the least amount of planning done for it (this may tell you something). Anyway...I have been wondering whether or not I should "celebrate" this fiction like I did Reincarnation Flower it''s birthday I think is in April so I have plenty of time to do it...just would it be worth it? I mean it has a lot less people reading it compared to RF and people there didn''t seem to appreciate my party scheme... Next chapter will be ''what happened to Vanessa while the two ''old'' guys were discussing her future...yeah I began to read from the parchment but when I was about halfway down the page the Master started speaking the words out loud making it obvious that he had them memorized, as well as greatly distracting me from reading. To prevent myself from being confused, I stopped myself from going further and instead raised my eyes to the line that the Master was currently speaking. I quickly found the place on the parchment and then listened as I read along. Some may question whether hearing is as important as just knowing the words. However in these sorts of things, inflection can possibly be vitally important or more so, and pronunciation is a whole other ball game. With things like prophecies the way you beat them at their own game (or possibly do exactly what is expected of you but since you got the result you wanted anyway you don¡¯t care) is to solve as many puzzles as possible yet keep an open mind so that whenever the events of the prophecy happen you will be able to use the prophecy as a guide in order to find certain clues that you then use to predict the way to obtain certain outcomes. A bit of a mouthful of an explanation, yes. But then again this is prophecy we are discussing, and prophecy is rarely a simple thing, unless it is a ¡®simple¡¯ thing that¡¯s actually a complex thing masquerading with the appearance of a simple thing¡­well you get the idea right? When he had finished speaking, I quickly reread the whole thing this time completely without his accompaniment and then with my head resting in my free hand, I slowly and carefully mulled over the words of the prophecy in my head. However, my martial art¡¯s master wasn¡¯t so patient as to let me have as much time as I pleased. Or possibly it was as I suspected and my tactic of making him angry backfired or more accurately worked just a little too well. ¡°So?!¡± He firmly interrupted me. Blinking my eyes, in bewilderment from suddenly being torn from my deep thoughts, as I had been caught up in attempting to pick apart the truest meaning of the words, I casually asked. ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So you are still going to keep my daughter in such a shallow kind of relationship after hearing that?! ¡°Other than adding the amendment cum protest that the master apprentice relation is considered far from being shallow by the majority of people who utilize or know of it, then yes.¡± It took him a moment to translate my words, but then he tried again. ¡°But doesn¡¯t it seem quite likely that if you continue to remain her master, and solely her master that you will become that poor sap mentioned in the prophecy?¡± I smiled in amusement. ¡°By ¡®poor sap¡¯ I suspect that you refer to the part where it speaks of the one with ¡®a fate filled with doom, and sorrows¡­¡¯¡± ¡°Well yes but I was more concerned about the part that mentions betrayal¡­if it really involves my daughter...¡± I laugh out loud, when I hear this and say. ¡°Why are you worried about this aforementioned betrayal, which by the way knowing prophecies as I do, we cannot be certain that it even is a betrayal at least in the meaning we hold, that defines betrayal? Besides this is when it even seems to point to the theory that your daughter is the betrayer and the cause of the doom rather than the other way around?¡± ¡°Well¡­isn¡¯t there something called revenge in this world? Isn¡¯t it to be expected that that if she betrays others, especially if those others are important folk that she will be increasingly likely to come to a bad end...besides...¡± He gives me a look when he says this, and I allow myself the brief flattering thought that, I am counted among ¡®important folk¡¯ before turning back in to what he is saying. ¡°¡­becoming someone untrustworthy possibly even without any honor, shouldn¡¯t I as her father be concerned not just with her existence but also be allowed to hope for the best for her? Is it so wrong that I want her to have a happy healthy enjoyable life? With more to it then endless and meaningless fighting?¡± I interrupt him, with a chortle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry she hasn¡¯t betrayed me or anyone else yet, nor has misunderstandings or rumors about her being untrustworthy or without honor have appeared. We don¡¯t know that it is a given that will be the details of her future. ¡° This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°But isn¡¯t that dangerous why aren¡¯t you refusing her as an apprentice¡­?¡± ¡°Why would I? Why would I judge and condemn her, in such a way, for something she has not done, and quite possibly something she may well never do? ¡° ¡°But don¡¯t you care that if you are the one in the prophecy that you are going to suffer and be part of the reason that this world is under a threat of being doomed?¡± ¡°Once again I will say it, we don¡¯t know if that will happen yet. Though I admit that it is highly likely that the¡­so called ¡®doom trigger¡¯ is myself, and I think this for reasons very personal to myself and the way the ¡®poor fellow¡¯ was portrayed in the prophecy, the idea of being that guy doesn¡¯t really bother me that much.¡± ¡°Why in the world does it not how can you possibly be so calm, even if you don¡¯t believe in the prophecy, aren¡¯t I still besmirching your honor by saying that I suspect you of being someone capable of causing a great catastrophe?¡± ¡°Well to answer your questions, direct and implied¡­even without this prophecy I am already likely to cause a great disaster¡­I won¡¯t say much more on the subject, I don¡¯t want to terrify you just when I have gotten you back to being unafraid of me again, but with or without your daughter there exists in me something that would make the worst doom you can think of less than a single chopstick in comparison.¡± ¡°As you say, I know nothing of these dangerous matters you speak of, or of your secrets, however, honestly, I don''t want to know. What I have been trying to make- er ask you to do is to take measures that would prevent this dreadful prophecy from coming to pass, if you could become the one mentioned or possibly already are that person you should want to do it.¡± ¡°So that is what you were trying to do?¡± when he glares at me in response I shrug and say. ¡°Just joking with you. But to take things more seriously even if I acknowledge this prophecy as something really directly pertaining and involving myself. And even if I agree with you that the events that it implies are bad things, why should I do what you ask?¡± I quickly hold my hand up palm facing him when it looks like he is about to interrupt me and continue. ¡°With prophecies there are no guarantees that trying to stop them is the correct thing to do, in fact there have been many cases where, someone while trying to avoid fulfillment of a prophecy ended up taking actions which in the end, led to the very thing they sought to avoid, even someone like you should have at least seen a play or heard a story that portrays such a common pattern right?¡± The dojo master then let out a deep weary sigh and quoted while avoiding looking at my face. ¡°He tried to avoid falling on the path so he looked carefully at his feet and walked slowly and ended up hitting his head on a tree branch sticking out upon the road.¡± Nice quote, I thought I would have to remember it¡­though I had heard similar before none of those quotes had ever been quite as direct or clear cut in their explanation they were, I noted much like and quite fitting for the man who said them and I took them as an indirect agreement. ¡°Yes¡± I said ¡°If I attempted to ¡®fight¡¯ this prophecy it would most likely be a loss on all counts, not only would it hinder my movements, or in other words I would be ¡®walking slowly¡¯ it would probably even make us hit our heads on a tree branch, that is we would end up making the doom happen even sooner¡­or possibly become much worse.¡± Seeing his moroseness and face avoiding continue, I sighed and tried to reassure him a bit. ¡°You know while I will not try to hinder or help this prophecy consciously in anyway, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I swore to do my utmost to protect, and do right by your daughter regardless of anything. I may end up stopping the doom by myself¡­I have a hidden card that I have a lot of faith in that I could ask for assistance. Things are far from being as bad as you even least pessimistically think.¡± The master turned and nodded at me, he seemed to be now completely filled with acceptance. After getting his permission I decided to keep the paper his copy of the prophecy was on, he obviously didn¡¯t mind because apparently he had already memorized it completely anyway and could easily make another copy if he had too. But he also got me to promise (though not a magically binding one) to not tell Vanessa about her prophecy. In this instance I agreed with him, so it was an easy promise to make...maybe in the future depending on how my apprentice developed I might change my mind, but right now I can''t think of a reason why I would do so. After placing the parchment inside a safe place, I checked the time and realized that my new apprentice had already acquired the minimum amount of time necessary to pass this first ¡®test¡¯ I had given her. Curious to see how she¡¯d done I ported to the clearing I had sent her in order to observe. Volume One Chapter 19: A Clearing in the Forest A Clearing in the Forest (Vanessa Swordarm) Spoiler : Happy Easter and or Spring Here is a chapter...I planed to post it earlier...but sadly life got in the way...RIP dreams... I found myself in a small clearing in the middle of a forest. The trees that enfenced the clearing cast shadows that dimmed as they cooled the majority of the area, except a small circle of exposed to light in the most center area. Beaming warm sunlight that, made me squint my eyes as I stood if not the middle then at least near to it. I cupped my brow to shade my face and turned in a circle slowly¡­and quickly calmed from the brief excitement I had felt at finding myself someplace else, through magic. After waiting a few minutes for something to happen, I picked a random direction and walked. And walked. And then¡­walked some more¡­ Shamefully, it took me longer than half an hour to realize, that I had been walking for quite some time yet I hadn¡¯t seem to have gotten anywhere¡­I studied my surroundings. I hadn¡¯t really paid attention to what was before then and after only a glance I started to think that they looked quite similar to what I had seen when I first started. Another thirty minutes and I then figured out peevishly that they looked the same because they were the same and just to make sure of my conclusion, I walked over to a large tree and channeling my ki used a finger to scratch a mark into its bark. I then I walked in the opposite direction. A half a minute later, I found myself looking at the mark I had drawn not long ago except I was now facing the other direction then when I started. Not being able to quite believe it, I searched the ground for a stone and set it beside the tree also. And began walking again¡­once more I found myself facing the tree, but this time my friend the stone was now there to greet me. I picked it up, and briefly entertained the madness, that it wasn¡¯t that the place remained the same but that my stone had grown legs, ran ahead of me and sat itself next to a similar look tree. Yes, briefly I somehow managed to full heartedly convince myself that the theory made perfect sense. Then another few seconds passed¡­ yup, daydream over. Anyway even if that impossibility were somehow true, because of the scratch mark appearing, I would have to add to the stone growing legs, a tree that could uproot itself and then walk without disturbing the ground. Sometimes I am glad to be a mostly logical human being, and sadly this time isn¡¯t one of them. Frustrated I took my stone and threw it as hard as I could in a random direction, and luckily by coincidence it landed near the circle of light I had first started in. Luckily, for when I went to pick it up I I squinted through the light and saw that beside it on the ground, was a small rolled up sheet of parchment. Sheepishly¡­I went to pick it up. My Dear Vice-Master, Reading this message means that the first test is over, and that you are quite a stubborn or ¡®determined¡¯ type of person, for if you had found and read a similar scroll a bit earlier or much later you would have found a different message. I imagine you are feeling a bit at least peeved at yourself and most probably myself as well, and I am almost sure that you are currently having many questions, so let me explain things a bit. First of all what I mean by test, is mainly just how it sounds. I enspelled this clearing that you are currently standing in with various, enchantments, charms and even a harmless hex or two, it is now basically a pocket dimension, or if you do not know exactly what that is, just think of it as a mini world that is looped around itself. You may be surprised or unsurprsied to know that I did all of this for the purpose of testing you. No, not on your affinity to magic. Though it would be a lie to say that the test is unaffiliated with your relationship to magic. This test is not a test on talent, nor is it a test on detecting the likelihood that you will have certain skills. This test is one of character and personality. Before you begin to get upset, no it is not because I do not trust you. Even if I hadn¡¯t gotten to know you during my time as one of the decimals at the dojo, I still would not accuse you of dishonesty. Please my clumsiness in explaining, and in return let me share something about myself. It is my habit to trust, and trust deeply for as long as someone has not done any actions that would challenge that trust, and even then I usually give them at least three chances of my own special ¡®benefit of a doubt¡¯. So far in this short time that I have known you, I have seen nothing that would shake my opinion of your morality. However, in my opinion it would be the gravest of errors to not acknowledge that has indeed been quite a short amount of time since we had first made our acquaintance. I have had no official disciple or apprentice before, but this does not mean I have never put any thought into how I would teach my apprentice when I did have one. I decided after said consideration that compared to how I would teach my regular students, my relationship with a true apprentice must be special and unique to all my relationships I have had before. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Chiefly my relationship would be one in which I found what my apprentice was lacking and then find and give them ways to lessen, or at least make up for or protect the vulnerabilities caused by that possible lack. To predispose this into happening and in order to achieve this and other goals I came up with a plan. A way to understand and know my apprentice better, learning at least the basics of what I need to know while still respecting their probable need for privacy, and their inherent right to keep things from me that they do not want me to know. I would give them a test, a test about their personality and character. And what you just experienced was the first part of that test. I won¡¯t go into too much detail, for if I did I would be hard pressed not to let myself bog you down with many times more information than you would ever want to know. Suffice to say, this test was as I mentioned about determining the amount determination that one possesses. Another, though too many less kind way to say it would be stubbornness. In other words, how much time would you spend trying to get out of the clearing before you either realized that your method wasn¡¯t getting you anywhere, or wasted so much energy that you collapsed or even fainted. So as you can see, while the results show that you are quite ¡®determined¡¯, you are far from reaching the limits of the test¡¯s capability in measuring stubbornness. But don¡¯t feel disheartened or pleased about it, none of the qualities the tests judge are inherently ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®bad¡¯, rather they are just traits, and their potential uses are just tools. How they affect you comes down to ¡®choice¡¯ and ¡®luck¡¯. With the information I gather from the tests, I plan to attempt you to learn how to make better choices, as well as whether more easily the fickle weather that is luck. If you find that you don¡¯t like this test and what it implies, and wish not to take it, you can try to stop taking the test by not participating in the activities I will request of you, and talk to me when I come to you, or complain. However something to keep in mind, is that attempting to avoid participation will have no great effect on the outcome of the test. This is because I designed the test with such a possibly as well as many others in mind, so it is a fact that I will get results no matter what happens. If however you do decide to give your cooperation and full participation, know that you will not end up uncompensated, and I mean this in a way that goes far beyond such broad terms as improved ¡®lesson plans¡¯ being its own reward. Here is the second part of this test: Meditation. I want you now to please sit and try and meditate, however there are certain caveats I wish to see you impose on yourself. First of all, you must try your best to avoid using any ki. You can try to control your breathing, and it is actually preferred that you attempt to clear or at least control your thoughts, but you must try to not let yourself circulate or touch your ki. This is much more difficult than it sounds, for judging by my eye you are already at a level where circulating your ki is instinctive. Before you object on the grounds of myself barely starting on the path of martial arts, let me point out that you can have knowledge even if you don¡¯t have experience, and you can¡¯t deny that I possess much knowledge. I have also talked to many different martial path cultivars and listened to them talk about their experiences, so believe that most of the time I can say that I know what I am talking about even if I really don¡¯t know what I am talking about. Back to the subject at hand, once more. There is a possibility that if you succeed in meditating and solely meditating, that you start feeling your magic, rather than your ki. As you have said you have experienced magic before, and since minimal success is still considered success you should have at least some of idea of what your magic feels like. So I will request as part of the test that if you sense you¡¯re magic, to immediately stop what you are doing and look at this scroll for further instructions. I won¡¯t give you any more information for if I were to do so it may invalidate at least some of the results, and I will not tell you the purposes any other tests besides this first one. However after you complete or try to skip the rest of the test, I will be happy to discuss the reasons and whys for each of the parts of the tests if you still desire to know. Sincerely, Your instructor and Master in magic, Will.
Pocket Dimension: A magic where a small part of reality is taken and made to be ''disconnected'' with the rest of the world world, because of this separation the piece of world can be made ''bigger'' or ''smaller'' then it was originally. A common tricked used in Pocket Dimensions is to have the edges of the space be ''connected'' so that once inside you can not get out, and end up going endlessly in a loop. Particularly nasty or nice Dimension Crafters, sometimes add elaborate illusions so that the imprisoned don''t even know they are imprisoned, or no without a doubt they are imprisoned (for torture purposes). Volume One Chapter 20: Ki-Less Meditation Ki-Less Meditation (Vanessa Swordarm) April Fool''s 2016 Spoiler : After getting so many critical reviews, and nasty comments (breaks down and starts crying) I just can¡¯t take it anymore so I have made up my mind, I have decided to stop writing forever! And soon I am also planning to take down all my prior chapters, so they can¡¯t hurt the eyes of the readers on royal road anymore! As a not so fond farewell to all you haters I have written in these spoilers a long rant about what I really think of all of you! (Warning: includes hate, more hate and many snobbish and obscene curses) Spoiler : April Fools! I love you guys! (Even the haters) A Spoiler of the next real chapter: I realize soon after I start reading the scroll that it isn¡¯t just an ordinary piece of paper. For one, once I started reading it I couldn¡¯t stop myself from continuing to read it, it was like my eyes were glued to the page. This wasn¡¯t anything like the corrosion I had experienced from other much lesser mages no, it was more like the words on the scroll were the most interesting and intriguing thing I had ever read before and I wanted no needed to read it all. This was not because of any great literary skill on the part of my master, (though not being a bookish sort it wasn¡¯t like could determine that anyway) rather it was of the many emotions I felt while reading it. It was almost like I was my Master as if I was well¡­Will. I felt his humor and his odd sort of childish amusement when I read what he thought to be jokes. And when I read his light teasing about my stubbornness, and his reveal about the clearing enspellment, I felt like I was the one being mischievous. If there is anybody curious on what would have happened if I had continued to write, I will be posting the rough draft of what the next chapter would have been: P.S. just before I decided to retire from writing I had been thinking of starting another fanfic, and because I hate for all my hard work to go to waste I will be posting the chapters I have for it, for one day and one day only. RMHS Just a warning this fic is the worst of my work to date so unless you want your eyes to start bleeding right before you start puking all over the place, there is only one solution DON¡¯T READ IT!! The end and goodbye! FOREVER!! P. P. S. Don¡¯t you readers even think of coming crawling back to me when you realize just how good of thing you had (sniff, sniff) Author''s Note: Spoiler : For those of you who did not read the spoiler yesterday I am sorry if that caused you any distress...as you can see I am not really dropping my writing. Though in my opinion it should have been obvious that it was an April Fools joke, after all at the very least one should take everything online on April 1st with a large grain of salt. Actually originally my April Fools post was just going to be about the rough-rough draft page picture. The joke was that: "I am so tired of working hard for my readers, that I decided to be lazy and give them the first draft to read, and if they want a better chapter they had better edit it/write one themselves" However some of the comments I read put me in a bad mood and so, a few months ago in 2015 I started to plan out a new and meaner version of April Foolery. To the people I wanted to target: It would serve them right if they believed it for a second. As to those who were innocent of ever making me angry? Well wasn''t the first day of the fourth month always full of victims anyway? Besides it was only some words, and it would only be up for around 24 hours they would survive. I felt that it was exagerated enough to be joking, I personally liked the touch at the end where I channel the same lines that a cheated on steriotypical woman would say. I mean come on do I really seem like the kind of person who would blaim their own incompatence and lack of will pwoer on other people so much so that they even claim they (the other people) will regret it? (on second thought please don''t answer that question) P.S. One part of the joke wasn''t a joke I wonder if you guys can figure it out and if you will even care when you do ;) FP: Tee hee I plan for the non-joke to be as mysterious as posible... AA: Yet it will end up compleatly ordinary and boring and no one will like it KNG: I am confused is it really you speaking? I realize soon after I start reading the scroll that it isn¡¯t just an ordinary piece of paper. For one, once I started reading it I couldn¡¯t stop myself from continuing to read it, it was like my eyes were glued to the page. This wasn¡¯t anything like the mental corrosion I had experienced in the past from other much lesser mages no, it was more like the words on the scroll were the most interesting and intriguing thing I had ever read before and I wanted no needed to read it all. This was not because of any great literary skill on the part of my master, (though not being a bookish sort it wasn¡¯t like I could determine that anyway) rather it was of the many emotions I felt while reading it. It was almost like I was my Master as if I was well¡­Will. I felt his humor and his odd sort of childish amusement when I read what he thought to be jokes. And when I read his light teasing about my stubbornness, and his reveal about the clearing enspellment, I felt like I was the one being mischievous. However the fascinating traits of the scroll didn¡¯t end there, for the scroll was quite small, and thus it was able to hold only a few sentences of my Masters writing at a time, however whenever I got to the last word of the sentence I was on, there was another. The scroll never changed in size, but somehow despite this fact there was always more to read. However I am not sure if the method was made possible through words appearing and vanishing or if he had somehow made a much longer ¡®scroll¡¯ fit inside the small one through magic. When I tried to see if the words vanished, as soon as I looked down towards a past sentence, or upwards towards the promise a new one there it would be, instantly. Essentially it was like I was scrolling without actually scrolling, it was quite the novel experience to say the least. After playing with it quite some time, I finally dragged myself away from the entertainment just experiencing the words and the feelings they gave and instead finally started to get myself to really comprehend what I was reading. Afterwards I was left with many mixed feelings. I wouldn¡¯t say that like he feared I was angry, and I wouldn¡¯t quite say that I was disappointed either. However I knew for a fact that although I was excited to see what would come next and curious about what my actions and choices would ¡®reveal¡¯ about me. I couldn¡¯t really say I was happy about this either. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And the reason for my tangled emotions was only partially because if I were happy I would also have to say that I am thrilled about being outed as a well¡­stubborn person. Well¡­I do admit I can be quite determined sometimes¡­which is a big part of the reason why will er my master so throws me for a loop. Basically my determination or even my stubbornness is completely ineffectual against him. Either I usually find out that there is no need for me to dig my heels in, because he usually just seemingly easily and almost casually gives me everything that I have asked of him so far, an apprenticeship not the least of it. Or the rare few times since we¡¯ve met that it looked like we may argue, he speaks so reasonably that I end up finding myself without any words with which to use against him, and more importantly I then am no longer even in the mood to ¡®fight¡¯. Whatever the truth of my feelings at the moment, it didn¡¯t really matter in the end because, the only way for me to see the conclusion of this event was to play along, after all I was always more of an action kind of girl rather than the sit on my heels and wait type. And so I sat down, in a cross legged position and carefully, set the scroll beside me before laying my hands on my lap and closing my eyes. Habit is a scary thing, I soon found out. For every time so far that I got to the point that I could be considered meditating I would immediately feel my ki start to engage and rush towards my ki channels. Each time this happened I would have to focus on calming my energies down, and of course as soon as I did that almost every time I would start to break out of meditation. I was so intensely absorbed in my attempts at ki-less meditation that I was completely unaware of how much time passed. The fact that the light clearing hadn¡¯t changed an iota did not help matters. However it must have been quite a while because when I decided to take a short break and started to stretch, my legs were shocked by a barrage of pins and needles and my lower back began to complain. So understandably my originally intended quick break lasted a bit longer than expected, as I took the time to get the circulation in my legs running properly again as well as stretch away the ache in my back. I also couldn¡¯t resist doing a few ki exercises to make myself feel better, but as I said to myself out loud those didn¡¯t count because I was not trying to do meditation at the moment but just warm myself up for health purposes. However as soon as I heard me talking to myself, I realized that the guilt and long hour(s?) of meditation must have gotten to me and so quickly sat back down to meditation. I don¡¯t know long this second attempt lasted for reasons stated earlier, but I estimate it took several times longer than all the time I had been there before I started meditation. Shamefully I comforted myself self with the thought that at least now I was doing something productive compared to the fact that I had spent most of that time walking the ¡®endless field¡¯ of a pocket dimension. (I have to admit that I was quite impressed to read that as far I know mages who can do that sort of thing are on the rarer side). Finally I managed it for a brief second. The moment was brief for as soon as I thought I managed it I felt an excitement that quickly ruined my frame of mind for meditation. However once I had experienced that feeling and knew better how to get there, my progress started to greatly increase in speed. I went from one brief second, to a normal second and then to seconds. Not much later I got to the point that I could do it for about a minute at a time, and by that point I had forgotten all about the reason I had started this strange form of meditation and instead was starting to become engaged in it for its own sake. The thing I found most different about ki-less mediation compared to my usual kind was that rather than focusing on controlling my body it was an exercise in not controlling my body thus it was much more focused on controlling my mind and my thoughts, despite or because of the fact that it made that action much harder to do. With ki enabled meditation, I normally would just clear my mind or focus my thoughts only in the very beginning. As soon as I got to the point where I could control my body I would then focus solely on moving my ki around, or on a particular martial art skill that I was then currently trying to learn, and from then on it was just a matter of instinct and habit. With ki-less meditation my thoughts became unstable and unfocused much easier because I had ¡®nothing¡¯ specific to focus on. To combat this possible problem I tried out various methods and experimental procedures most which I had thought of on the spot. These included everything from the classic stereotypical ¡®clear your mind and think of nothing¡¯ approach to the somewhat unorthodox meditate on meditating and focus on focusing tactic. I am not sure which of them paid off, possibly a combo of one or more of many thereof, but I shockingly (to me at least) eventually found myself in the midst of success. For while meditating I suddenly felt, something that I had first felt before long ago. A feeling that had only come about after a long tiring day spent near endlessly repeating hard to pronounce magic words read from an unsanctionedly borrowed library book, to the point that my voice had become hoarse and my body near collapse. At that time far from the grand happy success I had pictured before I had started all I had felt was relief when all my work paid off and I managed to get the spark of magic I had coaxed into appearing into making the twig I was holding smoke slightly. Of course that wasn¡¯t the end of my practice or my capabilities and although I eventually managed to get the twig catch on fire as well as a few other tricks, by then I had begun to realize that compared to my ability to use certain flame element martial art skills and cause blazes near to being explosions my magic as being useful wouldn¡¯t be anything more than the level of not quite pathetic. Or in other words, though not the worst of talents I was far from being a prodigy in magic. What I was feeling now, was as far as from that little spark as could be. So much so that had I experienced ¡®this¡¯ on one of my many earlier attempts I would have immediately rushed out in search of a master dojo be d*med for I would believe confidently that I was a genius. It was a complete and utter rush no a flood of magic. However this feeling only lasted for a small second. Quite excited and encouraged I was about to try again when one of my hands brushed the scroll sitting next to me and I recalled that my master had requested that I do something after I felt magic. So I picked up and started to read from it again.
ki: An energy produced in the bodies of those who practice certain forms of Martial Art''s Cultivation and in a few with abnormal bodies Channels: Invisible veins that ki runs through Meditation: A form of stress relief cultivation practice by mages, martial artists and anyone who wishes to learn some mastery over their mind and body. Certain rarer varieties can have more powerful results, like making learning certain skills easy or the body stronger to name a few examples. Library: A place with a lot of books, also in this world in some libraries you can find books that teach things about magic, martial arts and other interesting things Volume One Chapter 21: Determination Determination (Wilhelm Dragonsong) I know how it may seem to others, but I didn¡¯t really go to much trouble planning and setting up the test. Mainly because in the past, during my spare time, I thought up the majority of what I would now use as ¡®test¡¯ material out of fun/boredom, and no real other reason besides curiosity. As the ¡®spare time¡¯ I am referring to goes further back then when I first came to this world, and as I am basically for all intents and purposes an immortal being, as you¡¯d probably quite easily guess, I have had not a little amount of what one could refer to as spare time. Even so, though I did not go to any trouble it is not like I didn¡¯t put any thought or care into it at all. In the end isn¡¯t Vanessa my precious first apprentice? I had to customize various elements of what foundationally where just games and amusements to pass the time and transform them into a set of tools with somewhat more important serious purposes that would also suit my apprentice enough that it would measure what I want measured accurately. And¡­oh¡­ ¡­ ¡­I just now had to have this well... ¡®point¡¯ pointed out to me by a friend, but just to put those of you with dirty minds to rest, what I meant by measurements has nothing to do with her physical appearance, or other more intimate details about her. In my opinion to care about people who are twisted enough to corrupt my innocent words into something quite¡­well twisted is somewhat meaningless, in and of itself¡­ but as my friend insisted I gave in and decided to say this now, and by the way why would you even need to use a test to measure that? I mean can¡¯t one just tell most everything from using the eyeballs? I mean just in case of emergencies I have already made her several sets of clothing including formal wear and they should all fit perfectly, I after all used the main three sizes to calculate by law of human proportion the rest of the sizes and¡­ ¡®¡¯cough, cough¡± anyway let me get back to the much more valid and interesting subject of talking about my tests that I oh so carefully crafted, as well as some of the real reasons behind them. The first part of the test was to determine determination. Before I go further let us discus: What is determination? Though there are probably as many answers as there are people, let me give you my definition. To me determination is a somewhat specific type of mindset, one in which after deciding on a course or way of future action you stick to that path and do not change. Of course depending on the situation one is in as well as various events in one¡¯s life, you could say that anyone could be determined so long as certain requirements are met, and anyone could be¡­well not so determined so long as one or more of those usually unsaid requirements are not met. However what I wanted to test, was not the situational determination, but rather my student¡¯s leanings towards the amount of determination they would have and how easy it would generally be for them to ¡®meet¡¯ their requirements as it were. In other words I wanted to test how stubborn Vanessa was basically I wanted at least a hint of how easy would it be for her to get fixated. In many situations having a lot of determination can usually be a good thing. If a challenge or problem is something that would probably require more than one attempt it can even be something that is absolutely required in order to make finding a solution likely. However determination has it¡¯s downsides as well, for if you become too fixated and stuck on the problem your mind will usually become too inflexible to ever be able to willingly set the problem aside or give up if needed let alone find the answer, especially if that answer requires out of the box thinking, for determination is usually a factor during the times that a person not only stays in the box but decides to live there. Bad or good determination was a quality that in my opinion would be vital when it came to my future interactions and lessons with my new pupil. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Now when it comes to determination there are actually very many ways to test for it. For example the ol¡¯ make your apprentice attempt to fill a large cistern with water from a well or river using only a bucket filled with holes trick. But having experienced that ¡®trick¡¯ myself I feel that for the majority of people including myself it is something that I wouldn¡¯t wish on my worst enemy. Trust me, for some it is so mentally scarring that it and it¡¯s relatives of other near or absolutely impossible tasks can drive deep wedges between teacher and students in the form of eternal grudges without any possibility of forgiveness. (Even if the disciple continues the apprenticeship). That alone was reason enough in my mind not to do it, though actually there were many others. Afterall I was hoping for a decent amount of time for our master apprenticeship relationship so there wasn¡¯t really a need to rush things. Having just a hint of her personality was really enough, really specific knowledge wasn¡¯t something I would learn until at least years of knowing her anyway. In any event I was quite satisfied for the test I had chosen specifically for this part of the¡­well¡­test. As you can see despite my seemingly vast knowledge it doesn¡¯t preclude me to having trouble choosing words sometimes¡­where was I¡­oh yes so I was quite satisfied with the test I had. Basically in the location I had sent Vanessa after the ceremony I had placed a nest or network of spells that upon her arrival would use her surroundings to trigger the creation of a pocket dimension. Rather than the dimension being a somewhat small space with a beginning and an end, I made it so that the space of the dimension would loop in on itself, essentially despite having a limited amount of space for all intents and purposes the space was endless. What I expected to happen would be that finding herself in such a situation and being from what I know of her an active sort of person, she would start walking hoping to get someplace. But since the end of that place was the beginning of the place she would end up going no place, make sense? First of all, though it wasn¡¯t the main point of the test, it would still somewhat test her awareness along with her determination. If one is aware of ones reality even if one is determined one won¡¯t usually continue to do something pointless right? However the awareness part was not the main part because it was designed to trigger the behavior of determination in people, at least for a short while in the beginning and the traits and personality of the person taking the test would determine the rest. What I did was have the location be in a clearing with a lot of sunlight in the middle and the shade of trees on the ¡®sides¡¯. There was a minor charm to make a person want to avoid the sunlight and stick to the shade. Encouraging a person to stick to the shade had several benefits. First of all, one tends to usually become tired faster in the sunlight, and making the person give up a little sooner because of that sort of reason wasn¡¯t really a valid result. Second and finally the gloomy and changing nature of the shade would also somewhat help in the deception that there is no true movement happening, as well as make the clearing seem bigger than it was. When I ported myself to the observation point I had set up just outside my little pocket dimension I was somewhat surprised to see my apprentice still walking in the loop. She was a bit more determined then I had thought. However having timed her from the moment she had been ported there to the time she had found the somewhat apologetic message I had left for her, I could say that while she definitely could be considered stubborn it wasn¡¯t to the point that I would call it a major or crippling fault. Also part and parcel of being stubborn was also usually accompanied with another virtue that just so happened to be the next part of my little test, that of patience. Volume One Chapter 22: The Other Tests Spoiler : My apologies by many times see next chapter for further explanation The Other Tests (Wilhelm Dragonsong) The test of patience was obviously centered on the ¡®ki-less¡¯ meditation for beginners lesson. Besides patience the test also would help me to check if she was better suited to keep her magic and warrior training separate. Of course if she really wanted to be a magic warrior that did both there were many ways for me to help her even if she was completely incompetent at it but the check helped. After this test was over I utilized my absolute control over the little pocket dimension to advantage by creating a series of illusions that were so realistic for all intents and purposes they were basically real. So it seemed like she was transported to various locations for each of the following tests, though in reality she stayed always at the same location at least physically. For a series of intellectually stimulating tests, she was transported to a mountain valley river seen where the goal was that she had to reach the other side of where she started, using tools and materials provided on site alone. She couldn¡¯t use her warrior strength or what minimal magic she might have picked up in the past at all. In order to move forward she had to solve a series of riddles and puzzles. From making certain shapes with some sticks to a tricky amusing classic involving a goat a head of cabbage and a wolf. There were also many pictures and illusions which looked like one thing while being another or didn¡¯t look like one thing while being a completely different thing¡­there were also some cases where it was being both things at the same time while sharing the same visual. No matter the case the test was to pick out an object or animal, from pictures which looked like many or few objects or animals. Basically, in short, a lot of brain teasers, and while I say intellectually stimulating it was more to test creativity and out of the box thinking then any traditional smarts. After she managed to solve everything including seeing past the finish line that wasn¡¯t really the finish line trick that I had added last moment partly for my own amusement she was transported to a labyrinth which was basically designed to be a haunted house, scary as heck but without any real dangers. However though there wasn¡¯t really any danger at all, to maximize the experience she could fully utilize all her skills and the ¡®enemies¡¯ and traps were seemingly genuine. But as expected from a young lady from a strong warrior bloodline she wasn¡¯t fazed at all and completed this test the most quickly out of all her other tests. Obviously the labyrinth was to test bravery, and her reactions in the face of danger, amongst other less obvious things. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After the labyrinth the locations got even more exotic and the challenges even more¡­well challenging. Explaining the mechanics for some would for me and my passionate fixations and for others well¡­I am either too embarrassed because of their design because of their simplicity or complexity or in the case for one¡­ Well I included it because although from what I have seen most Wizard masters don¡¯t go for such excessive amounts and kinds of tests for their apprentices I do have at least one example of someone similar to uphold as an example. The one that my Master Vanessa¡¯s Grandmother created and would take out at the slightest opportunity for her own amusement I suspect more than anything else. For the sake of tradition and because she my Master didn¡¯t make any other kind of usable test that I know of I included it in between two of my awesome self-created designs in order to blunt the impact as much as possible. But still that thing¡­was at minimal cringe worthy. You might get a clue, when I say that with me the test did not get the results it was supposedly testing for¡­instead it was like torture when the theme was supposedly pleasure¡­and Vanessa while it did work on her correctly more than it ever did on myself¡­she did manage to pass it quicker than most¡­ Still it is such a horrendous thing, (in my opinion) that besides making the precursor and subsequent tests a sort of pallet cleansing experience, I also made several obvious signs that I hope put the culpability at least partially on that perverted old woman. Anyway even for those tests¡­which I don¡¯t want to talk about, Vanessa passed them all on acceptable levels, or at least even when she ¡®failed¡¯, in her reactions I didn¡¯t see anything that made me regret taking her on as an apprentice. With the help of the tests I understood her weaknesses and her strengths a lot better now and was already coming up with many lesson plans that I thought would be suitable to try on her. Still despite the benefits in the end I couldn¡¯t really get rid of a somewhat painful sour feeling that was currently boiling in the back underneath it all where I couldn¡¯t really see or confront it. A feeling that was a lot like guilt. I will now try to admit something that I think I at least hinted at in the past. That is despite all my excuses and justifications the truth was none of these tests were truly necessary, at least for the reasons I told you. All of the things that I said that I was using the tests to find out¡­all of them could have been found out after a little time and conversation spent together as well as a few more traditional lessons. All it would take was a little time¡­and from a logical point of view if nothing else I, no we¡­ had all the time in the world. So why did I go through all of that trouble? Why did I put my apprentice through so much bothersome and even cringe worth experiences, when I had all the time in the world? No real reason, or at least not one that I could put in words at that time, for I had hidden it even from myself. Volume One Chapter 23: Hidden History Spoiler : Okay for the explanation let me get the shameful reasons out of the way first. I admit there have been times that I wasted a lot of time doing useless selfish things like read and play video games...yeah now some of my guilt has been appeased let me tell you the other more reasonable reasons. Firstly the power outage mentioned was unfortunately not the only power outage...there were two or three others after that one...as well as over twenty internet downs caused by who knows what. During the power outages my laptop ran out of battery and during the internet downs I felt too depressed to get anything done...then got distracted by unreasonable reasons again. Secondarily to the reasonable and unreasonable reasons were the ones that fell in between, my family kept pulling me out of the basement to do things and I also had several unavoidable appointments. Anyway...as part of my apology this month there will be more then 2 chapters, that is besides the regular release and the one to make up for the missed last month there will be at least one more probably more chapters... hopes you can forgives me... Hidden History (Wilhelm Dragonsong) To tell the truth myself taking on an apprentice at that time as well as in such a complex way, nearly out of the blue, and then proceeding to seemingly unnecessarily test them in various ways was not for the shallow and simple reasons I told you about. Or at least they were far from being the main reasons. I know that I am being somewhat confusing as well as unstable but the truth be told there really was a reason behind my actions at that time even if I myself didn¡¯t know it or even acknowledge the possibility. Basically though the me of that time couldn¡¯t not yet even about it, all my actions definitely had motives, that were hidden from myself. Over a hundred years ago from this time, when I had first found myself in this world¡­in many ways I guess you could say that I was lost. I didn¡¯t know where I was, but more importantly I didn¡¯t know who I was. Yes, then and even now, and I had no clue as to why but I couldn¡¯t access the majority of memories of my past, before I woke up alone in a forest naked in everything including history and all alone. Thankfully I wasn¡¯t rendered to the point of complete infancy, I still had my instincts and some of what could be called habitual or basic knowledge. In other words I knew how to walk and move, though admittingly clumsily. And eating and drinking and such was of course a given. Though wasn¡¯t much besides that, I only had just bits and pieces here and there of what could be called actual ¡®memories¡¯ most of which were of my childhood. In case you are curious, I looked basically the same as I do now. A person usually from the point of view of others who is though not quite a child doesn¡¯t look like a complete and polished adult either. Though despite appearances it is my guess that those memories were far from being a ¡®recent¡¯ ones, this is because what I feel when I ¡®remember¡¯ is not sadness or blurry confusion resulting from being of a very young age but clear headed nostalgia you tend to feel when something took place long ago. But according to the woman I later came to call master in name if not in truth, for in my opinion in some ways it would be more accurate to think of her relationship with me as foster parent of sorts, or maybe an adopted ¡®big¡¯ sister, when she first met me I was more like ¡°An innocent child¡± then anything close to an adult. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But I think that my child like state was probably because of the lack of memories then anything to do with my unknown true age. I don¡¯t think I had ever thought of myself as a child. Strange as it might be to some¡­I never really thought of myself as an adult either, but though I am unsure of the state of my physical if not mental maturity I have always from the beginning since I was able to understand what was going on around me, have rejected the thought of having others make choices for me or ¡®protect¡¯ me in the way one protects a child. Though to me, these past hundred plus years haven¡¯t seemed that long of a time period of all the many things that happened to me or that I sought out during it, have had a maturing and educational effect on my mind if nothing else. In regards to magic, I am given another clue to my unknown self as well providing the explanation for why I don¡¯t consider that woman to be my true master, at least in regards to magic. Magic has always come to me most instinctively, almost naturally. Either I have always been able to use it like that because of some sort of trait of my race, or perhaps at some point in that unknown past I had trained in it to the point like eating and sleeping it had become such an ingrained habit that I didn¡¯t lose it when I lost my memories. What did I learn from my Master and the academy then? Well to me it seems obvious but just in case let me make things clear. The main thing I sought to learn from both sources was ¡®how to fit in around other people¡¯. It took me only a few years after meeting my Master to learn most of the common languages as well as a decent amount of the rules of the people of this world¡¯s common sense, yet time and time again I was reminded through the results of actions I took as well as the many things that went over my head¡­that I just didn¡¯t know enough. In fact even now hundreds of years later I still think I do not know enough. All of my instincts that so easily let me do magic, fail me when it comes to interacting with people actually my magic is one of the main things that causes a feeling of separation I have always felt. Basically most of what I am capable of to the people of this world should be impossible. The fact that the group I was a part of would always call me monster, and common sense breaker among other similar titles while they themselves were called worse titles in the same line by the common populace should tell you something. Luckily being common sense breakers themselves they were more open minded then most. My Master may not have been my teacher in magic but in some ways you could call her my Master in common sense. Though to those who knew her would probably say it was a case of the near sighted leading the blind, nevertheless I do actually owe a great deal to her, she tried her best and I must admit she did have success to some extent. Also the others in group though quickly giving up in teaching me other things, mainly right after becoming terrified at my extreme clumsiness back then, did teach me in other ways. Vanessa¡¯s Grandfather Ronald for example was usually a most excellent example of what not to do. All kidding aside I am quite thankful to all of the people in that group for their kind care enabled me to act passably enough as a human of this world (though a weird one) that I was able to enroll in the magic academy no problem and even do well enough in it that I made friends and had enough fun that I decided to continue my stay there as a teacher. Volume One Chapter 24: Running Before I Can Crawl Running Before I Can Crawl (Wilhelm Dragonsong) Though the way I put things may seem somewhat simple maybe even a bit carefree, if I had to describe my life up till now or at least my remembered life I would have to say one word: difficult. Don¡¯t even mention social interactions because I am in fact still working on them, let me instead move on to things more easily to talk about without embarrassment. For example the way I interacted with magic was so instinctive and different then the people of this world used that learning to use magic ¡®their¡¯ way was akin to speaking in reverse or dancing backwards while singing. The ¡®spells¡¯ and other methods alone that my Master taught me let alone the complex stuff I later learned at school were until I figured it out, were hard to the point of near hatred. Of course what the spells were supposed to accomplish were excruciatingly easy to me to do with my own personal magic, but that is exactly what made things so very difficult. I guess you could say that I felt like was born running and not just running but capable of leaping and dancing and I had been happily doing it for some time. Then soon after seeing and interacting with others and after being confused to no end I meet my Master who essentially ¡®takes me out of the woods¡¯ and explains things, by saying that not only is running an impossible thing but leaping and dancing are legendary existences and even something as simple to me as standing is something that only grandmasters can do. So in her opinion the only way the impossible existence that is myself will be able to understand others is if I stop running and learn ¡®from the beginning¡¯ along with the majority of other people. So despite my confusion I still deeply desired the ability to understand, so I stopped my running, awkwardly got down on my knees and attempted to learn how to crawl. It was painful, humiliating yes but at the end I think it was undoubtedly worth it and strangely illuminating in its entertainment value. Once I got past a certain point and overcame my understandable pride in being able to do what seemingly no one else could do, and started to reverse learn how to crawl decently, I was hooked. After all while things do seem beautiful up in the sky there is something to be said for things down on the ground as well. I learned every language and magic language that I could find in this world, and then in my exuberance I read just about every book and magic book that I got my hands on¡­actually I confess that there was one large period of time maybe a decade or two where I spent almost all my time and energy in ¡®research¡¯. Luckily my friends eventually dragged me out of that pit of obsession otherwise I would probably still be reading even now and would have probably missed the war until it came with in hearing distance¡­cough-cough. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Anyway still, once I realized how fun and interesting doing things in such complicated and unnecessary ways that the magic practice of this world required was it became a major part of my life that I have never regretted. So much so that it helped me to if not completely love at least to more easily accept and come to terms with my life in this world. For though I have lived here for over a hundred years I have never really felt truly a part of it. In explanation let me say that even back then at bare minimum, I didn¡¯t ever think that I come from a place anywhere near ¡®here¡¯. Actually I don¡¯t think I even come from this world. I have many facts to support this and didn¡¯t come to this theory lightly. First and foremost among the evidence is despite my explorations all around this world I haven¡¯t met a single person who recognized me or even thought that I looked familiar, shouldn¡¯t there be at least one person in this entire world who knows where I came from if I indeed came from here? Even if I came from the most back woods of places then at some point I should have been able to find it no problem I do have magic to help me after all but yet my magic always came up a big blank when I tried it. Secondarily is my unclear ancestry, I know from a few of my fragmented memories that¡­among other¡­things my blood contains the blood of elves. But the elves of this world though in many ways similar are also equally completely different then the elves and elven magic of those memories. Also among those ¡®other things¡¯ I mentioned are races and creatures that are not only exceptions to this worlds equivalents in millions of unheard ways but also in the case of some already extinct and long gone to the point that they are considered merely legends. Next but not least, though I won¡¯t speak of more for now is the fact that I have never felt fully comfortable here, though I can¡¯t know for certain without my memories, nothing that I have seen here looks familiar. Everything seems ¡®not enough¡¯ or in a few rare cases ¡®too much¡¯ nothing I have seen or experienced in all my years of wandering had sparked any new memories. So being an alien in an alien land, I think it is understandable that I thought I should rely on what I already had, rather than relying on something that I didn¡¯t even have a hope of putting into worlds let alone having the chance of even knowing if it even existed or was actually possible in the first place. Though it is obvious that I have gained much in this remembered life treasures and equally treasured friendships and more recently some undervalued fame as well, I have never been able to forget about what I have forgotten. Despite the great strides I have made in my understanding of how to act like a person of this world, in the end no matter what I do I don¡¯t think I am a person of this world and more importantly I don¡¯t think I ever will be. Volume One Chapter 25: Another鈥檚 Teapot Spoiler : Have been forgetting to post chapters mainly because have just started school again but will post chapters and probably apology/explanation (excuse) soon Another¡¯s Teapot (Wilhelm Dragonsong) As they say holding another¡¯s teapot is not the same as owning that teapot, learning about another¡¯s culture is not the same as having their culture. The people of this world and I have different values and different ways of thinking. I can¡¯t understand them and I don¡¯t think that any of them will ever be able to ever come near to understanding me. While I have come to accept them, and their ways and to some degree tolerate what I can¡¯t accept, something inside me has always rejected becoming one of them, so much so that I feel it is impossible for me to even think that one day that I would change enough that it would become an option. The way I had solved this never ending worry resulting from my many differences and unknown past, at that time, was simply to not think about it, to just say to myself that I am me and they are they and leave it at that. A passive way I know, but I believe that sometimes no choice is the best choice to make though with my personality it is more likely to be ¡®still working on making the choice¡¯ rather than a true refraining from making the choice. Anyway while ignoring it did dull the aches and pains of isolation and loneliness, it also sadly damped my motivation greatly and often hindered any desire to put effort on figuring out a true solution sometimes killing it before even the thought of it could sprout. And without even the hope for change everything was in stasis, it was like an open wound that never healed but that was so well bandaged and so old that it didn¡¯t even seem to matter anymore. I was stagnant and getting nowhere in any part of my life at least to my satisfaction. The reason that myself acknowledged for joining a dojo was tied directly to that wound, and my hopes of getting things started in a sense. I said joining a dojo was a childhood dream of mine right? But putting it that way fails absolutely to convey just what that dream meant to me, and that failure also shows how far I had fallen because of my practice of ignoring and shoving to the side my true hopes in dreams that I had given up on. It was a childhood dream yes, but don¡¯t you think that the childhood dream that came from one of the few memories that a person who suffers from amnesia has, is very different when compared to a childhood dream of others? That one simple childhood dream was often for me like that one piece of driftwood that a drowning man was able to reach. The crutch on which the cripple had to lean on, the small flicker of light in an abyss of darkness. That one word of truth that warmed while one was suffering by freezing in a frozen lake of lies. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Before I loose myself in getting too descriptive/poetic, let me conclude with the true though embarrassing a beloved blanket or stuffed toy that the scared child clutches to its breast. It was not just a help for me mentally or emotionally either but actually in some ways a cornerstone of my very being. For it was not just what I would consider my most precious treasured memory, and not only the most clear and easily recollected one but it was much more than that for it was a sort of linchpin, a key to all the other memories as well. So much so that every time I wanted to search for clues in my other memories I would first have to start with it. For it seemed to be connected to all the others. It was actually quite a long chunk of memory that actually seemed to span at least years, if it was all totaled together, if not longer but the main bit was only a day or so. In order to hopefully further understanding, I will share that bit with you now. In it, what seems to be a child aged me was saying with na?ve innocence that they wanted to become a warrior, and other people of whom I sadly cannot remember the details of their faces of were smiling at me¡­or at least was being caring of that child¡¯s feelings. It seems innocent and simple enough, however with the emotions and experience that the adult me now has, I can more accurately and clearly read their emotions, and though the child me wasn¡¯t completely clueless. Now when I look back on this memory I can clearly feel a sense of sadness and the tiredness tenderness that someone who is walking on eggshells might give, from those caring ones who were smiling and caring for that child me. For some unknown¡­for some frustratingly hidden reason¡­they don¡¯t think the childhood me can become a warrior. I think that it must be a reason far greater than the clumsiness that I remember in this life for clumsiness can¡¯t possibly be enough to make them look so sad. After all though it isn¡¯t absolute the fact remains that for the majority clumsiness can be trained out of a person or at the very least greatly lessened by said training. If that fails I have dim recollections of a type of martial arts found somewhere where one takes their lack of grace and uses it to their advantage, by turning stumbles and bumps into deceptive looking attacks. There is a strong and distinct difference between feeling sad because you know that someone is going to be bad at doing something and someone that you know doing a certain thing is completely impossible. One is an expectation, the other is knowledge of a disability, and I feel what I saw was the latter. There was more to the memory then this of course but that was the strongest feeling and what stands out the most. The little me wanting something, and the ones caring about me wanting to be able to support that want but are unable to. A dream a desire which is shared by both, but the expectations differ. Volume One Chapter 26: It Doesn鈥檛 Make Sense It Doesn¡¯t Make Sense (Wilhelm Dragonsong) When I first came to this world, it did really take some time for me to recall these memories. Remembering that strange and somewhat fun time, when I was almost without memories, quite clearly I can tell you that even before I was even able to recall even the fuzziest part of these memories, I still had the desires and dream that came from them, even without them. That should tell you just how strong that desire was. Before you ask: if this is so why I didn¡¯t try to accomplish that dream much earlier? The thing is I did, the key word being tried¡­I tried many times actually but various things would always compel me to stop before I had ever truly begun. Of course there were some loop holes which is how and why I developed that close combat magic that I so excessively proudly mentioned in the very beginning of this story, but the so called ¡®loop holes¡¯ could only be considered alternatives or substitutes and not the real thing. In fact whenever the loop holes got close to being the real thing, the obstacles would immediately pop up again almost like a warning. Some of these obstacles seem silly and weren¡¯t really that threatening the worst and most often happening would I guess be, the times when my clumsiness would suddenly act up in an extreme manner. Clumsiness was the most minor and most expected especially since it is a trait of myself, but there were other times, when things that had nothing to do with me would happen, like the earth shaking and disrupting my concentration, or a loud sound that no one else could hear. The strongest opposition however was not some obvious thing like that, or the worse that shall probably remain unmentioned for now, but rather it was that hidden force I think I have at least mentioned before, though I think I probably referred to it as motivation or force or some word similar. But in actually I don¡¯t think either is an accurate enough word for that ¡®feeling¡¯, for it doesn¡¯t really fit the word ¡®force¡¯ for it doesn¡¯t take away my choices, or ¡®force¡¯ me to do anything. There has actually been several times where I chose against it and usually my better judgment. However for all of those times I got into situations that I would later if not regret then at least not feel proud about. On the other hand just about every time I have given into that ¡­¡¯intuition¡¯ everything had usually turned out swimmingly at worst and perfectly at best. And the few times it didn¡¯t, I don¡¯t think the force was wrong even then, I have a hunch that it was just that the many other mitigating factors got in the way preventing full effectiveness. I am not sure what that feeling is but I am sure that it is more than my own lost memories, because often times it goes completely cross purposes to a decision that I myself would make. I am not sure if I am even related to that feeling at all, it could possibly be that it is an aspect of someone or something else entirely and I am just one of possibly many (?) others influenced, and affected by it. Though obviously from my point of view it is probably something intrinsically tied to the reason behind my lost memories and possibly my purpose in this world. That is if I am here for a reason and if I actually have a purpose in this world, both of which I am not completely sure, in fact really have no idea about. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. All I know, is that it is the main reason that I decided to drop my life as a mage, at least temporarily and try to learn the true way of a warrior was that I suddenly knew that it was ¡®time¡¯. Not that it was a hard thing to do as it was what I have always wanted anyway It had happened suddenly and without warning, not long after that war that made me a ¡®hero¡¯ ended, it came and told me (though not really in words more like I just ¡®knew¡¯) that now I would be able, to if not completely step on to the path then at least to be able to start building my foundation without the barriers of the past and it was so. I was suddenly almost like a normal person, and though I still retained much of my clumsiness it was no longer to the point of debilitating or stopping me from practicing exercise. I also, surprisingly even to me, I even saw some results from said practice and exercise physically, I got a little bit of muscle definition and my clumsiness slightly lessened. Though this is only something vaguely cosmetic it is something that I cannot recall ever happening before. In the past my condition and body never changed at all no matter what I did or what happened to me. For example I can and have eaten more than the worst gluttonous pig you can imagine, then sit around doing not a lick of movement and I wouldn¡¯t gain an once, and neither would I feel the slightest bit sick or weakened. Actually as a possibly interesting side note I don¡¯t really feel hunger and thirst in the same way that others seem to¡­ That is I don¡¯t usually feel them at all unless I ¡®want¡¯ to, I suspicion that even if I never ate or drank anything ever again I would probably be perfectly fine, though as the occasional intake of delicious food is one of my rare and few pleasures I haven¡¯t ever instinctively tried to prove this. When I made and completed the contract with my new apprentice, I influenced by that hidden power had added a few things that I didn¡¯t fully understand but knew to be harmless even if wrong or failed (not real), and ever since I did, despite it being only a short amount of time I have already noticed several new changes in myself. The most noticeable being that the mysterious restriction preventing me from taking the martial path had been lessened or perhaps even removed even more. You should have wondered before why a man competent enough to learn things almost purely from self-study and become a teacher is not competent enough to learn martial arts or the ways of warrior hood through that same self-study and observations. And let¡¯s not even mention my ability and skills in crafting and research. Personally it still boggles my mind when I think of things from a third person perspective. Why was I able to understand magic so easily and instinctively? I even reverse engineered magic of the people of this world with just a bit of effort! Then on the other hand, I was always clumsy to the point of ridiculousness, no matter how much effort I put into practicing, not mentioning the mysterious, not even mentioning again the various ¡®warnings¡¯ that tried to stop me, when I tried to use my body without the support and auto-correction of my various magics, I would fail period. You know why this sounds like it doesn¡¯t make sense? I will be glad to tell you. It is obviously because: IT DOESN¡¯T MAKE SENSE! Happy Halloween I will update this soon...sorry for the delayDid you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. WMAW: Taking a Hiatus It wasn''t planned but I think now that it has gotten to this point I might as well admit it: I am (and have been) taking a hiatus...I feel kind of disappointed in myself but things kept popping up one after the other, and then it became final exam week(s)...and studying took priority. Anyway I have set for myself as a deadline my birthday which is December 17. Hopefully I can take enough time in-between studies to write all the chapters that I should have written a long time ago...Originally I was just going to continue to lie to myself and pretend like nothing happened when I started posting chapters again...but then a little voice whispered that isn''t being very fair to the readers is it? And while I don''t really care what the readers think, I also at the same time really care about what the readers think, so I decided to just confess to you guys the truth before things got any more ridiculous. My apologies now, for the past, and sadly probably in advance. Hopefully I will come back on the 17th with lots of new chapters, maybe something extra, and at minimum an explanation of what has been going on with me lately (the past few months).Stolen story; please report. As a mostly unrelated side note, I have been slowly starting to move a copy of my fictions to Novel Updates Forums, starting with my ¡®newest¡¯ story RMHS (3 chapters out of the 7 total have been moved so far, so I¡¯m like almost halfway done for that novel) and ending with my oldest RCF, and while I have been doing that I have found myself taking the time to edit and polish the chapter a little bit, so essentially currently the ¡®newest¡¯ version is on NUF, I will probably also update my RoyalRoadl version after I have finished editing and posting the ones on NUF, but before then, if you are interested you can always check out the ¡®new¡¯ version on NUF. update: So because of the weather I am heading home later then planned and will have no internet access so the chapters will probably be late... WMAW Hiatus Update There was an unfortunate incident that happened a while ago and led to me having to prolong the hiatus...sorryUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Because of that I don¡¯t know when I will get the new chapters rewritten and posted and so I can¡¯t give an end date yet but hopefully it is soon