《Heroic World》


 Prolouge : His Death

    In the middle of wasteland, a battlefield was unfolding.


    Brigades of full-plated army were charging from the west in great fortitude.


    The number alone easily exceed millions; it was all of the forces that they, the humans, could muster.


    Their collective steps were so loud, that huge tremor was occurring towards the direction they move.


    It was a sight of a great terror, for the world¡¯s bravest and most ruthless had clustered into the same battlefield, fighting for their life.


    There was nothing that could stop their charge.


    In the direction where they were charging,


    There was a lone man, cladded with a set of jet-black armor; his standing posture was menacing and as solid as a mountain.


    His view was locked on the horizon above, where the mixture of red and violet beautified the sky.


    Under the mask, a man was flowing in tears and regret.


    It was a sight of a wretched person whose soul had been broken.


    If a normal person were to see his state at this moment, they would probably pity him.


    There was a contrast between himself and the threatening appearances of his external armor exuded.


    Roaring gallops could be heard as the cavalry was nearing to a close distance,


    The man closed his eyes and brought his head down, while his hands were clenched tightly.


    A dust of white and black starts rising from inside the ground and was materialized into a weapon in each hand.


    On his right hand was a bright-white javelin that was without blemish.


    On his left, a black-hilted sabre with a crimson red blade.


    He opened his eyes, his irises changed into a bright red color and he was gasping heavily.


    There was not a tinge of his humanity left.


    At that moment, he was akin to a berserker who had sold his soul to a demon.


    A contracted demon that reigned over death,


    No. He was none other than The Reaper who would bring end to humanity.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The Great War had ended, it lasted for days and nights.


    Millions of corpses had lied down on the barren land, lifeless.


    There was no sign of life, aside from the man who wore the jet-black armor.


    He used his white javelin to stab the last corpse he killed,


    His weaponry and armor was unscathed and took literally no damage from the outside.


    Not even the blood from his adversary smeared his equipment, like it had rejected them.


    The depiction of him standing above others were nothing but terrifying to witness.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The great tremor had turned into a silent battlefield,


    Even the wind did not dare to blow at this particular moment.


    Then he released both of his grip,


    He kneeled on the ground, his knee was supporting him from falling down.


    His weaponry dissipated into the thin air.


    The exhaustion was greatly taxing his body; his spirit was no longer burning like a flame.


    Looking up to the scenery in front of him, he could see the corpses and its blood was piercing his nose with undesirable pungent smell.


    ¡®In the end, I had destroyed the world¡¯


    ¡®In the end¡­ I had forsaken the justice I upheld before¡¯


    A small mutter came out from his mouth, it was also the sound of his heart.


    A bottomless sadness, that erupted inside his mind.


    After that, he looked at the night sky.


    The glistening stars in the wasteland painted it beautifully.


    Somehow, his grief was lightened from that scenery, but was far away from erasing it.


    He took all the time he wanted to look at the sky in solitude,


    Then he raised his index finger up above, as if he wanted to touch the stars.


    ¡°Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.¡±


    Letting out words in a gentle voice, he closed his eyes.


    At that moment, a ball of azure fire was falling down from the sky and was dropping itself towards the man in high velocity.


    As it made contact with the ground, the flame was expanding in an explosive rate and quickly soared to the surrounding land.


    The corpses was quickly burned into dust, as if their existence was eaten by the flame.


    It was also burning the man, he had let its blaze scorches the caster.


    Although, even the azure flame that had eaten those corpses were not able to fulfill his wish of killing him painlessly.


    It had to weaken his flesh ever slowly in an excruciating pain, as if he was being cleansed of his sins in a purgatory.


    Then¡­ His life was slowly dying down, until he was devoid of it.


    Rain was pouring heavily, celebrating the aftermath of the battle which had exterminated all the life of this world.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡®You have been chosen¡¯


    A voice came about from the abyss,


    It was talking to him.


    All of his senses were numbed, he couldn¡¯t move anything.


    Then a bright light covered all the darkness around him.

 Chapter 1: His Reincarnation

    Hsssss!!


    A rare summer rain was pouring down, cleansing the area with its droplets.


    In a certain village, a mother¡¯s cry could be heard despite the loud noise of the rain.


    Her stomach was bulging and was accompanied by an old woman.


    A young man was looking from a distance enough to not disturb the two.


    ¡°Breathe!¡± The old woman shouted as she was gripping the pregnant mother.


    Perhaps, this was the hundreds of time the old woman had repeated the word.


    The mother¡¯s face was pale and weak; but her spirit was unwavering as she maintained her look.


    With a worrying look, the father was only able support her from afar as she was experiencing the ordeal.


    ¡°Just a little bit more!¡± Another shout came from the old woman.


    A small cry could be heard not long after she had said the sentence.


    Waa!


    The howl of a baby resounded over the room, so strong that it showed a vitality of a beast from him.


    At the same time as the baby cried,


    A huge thunder fell down and struck a tree beside the house, turning it to charcoal in the midst of the stormy rain.


    However, the people inside were so focused with their tasks that it didn¡¯t pay mind to the situation outside.


    This was because a new life was produced,


    Delight was written on the old woman¡¯s face as she held the newborn baby and left the room to tend the baby with care.


    The father couldn¡¯t help but to cry in joy after he saw the success.


    Although, he was trying to hold his tears as he was worried about the person who went the painful process and was looking at her face.


    Realizing the tender gaze, the mother looked back and gave out a weak smile to indicate that all was going to be all right.


    After splendidly fulfilled her task, the fatigue she was suppressing was released and overflowing her body.


    She closed her eyes in relief, basking in the exhaustion into deep sleep.


    ¡°You did well¡±


    The young father rustled her hair tenderly.


    His tears was lightly seeping through his eyes; but he quickly brushed it with his right arm.


    It was only an hour


    But to them it was like an eternity.


    ¡°The child is a boy, Taiyou¡±


    The old woman called the father from behind while holding the baby which was shrouded in blue piece of cloth.


    He quickly turned his head and looked at the baby,


    Filled with excitement, his trembling hand was extending to hold the newborn onto his arm.


    He made a proclaim with dignity


    ¡°So¡­ This is my child!¡±


    The old woman nodded with a big smile,


    Then she inquired, ¡°What would you like to name him?¡±


    Taiyou looked at his wife, then glanced back at the kid.


    ¡°Ryuu, his name shall be Ryuu.¡±


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡®So bright¡¯


    The brightness was so discomforting, yet I couldn¡¯t escape from it.


    Agonizing dizziness was constantly jumbling up my senses; while the feeling of weakness was simply unbearable.


    I struggled around the place in hope for a breakthrough.


    Then, I realized something warm touched my face.


    A word was heard not long after.


    ¡°Ryuu, his name shall be Ryuu!¡±


    ¡®???¡¯


    Huh? Names? Confusion was reeling inside my mind.


    Though, without observation, there was really nothing I could do.


    I focused all my strength into opening my eyes,


    It was hard, but I managed to open them slowly with difficulties.


    Images from the surrounding area was projected into my eyes, I could make shape of a young man in tear while looking at me tenderly.


    However, constantly opening my eyes alone was already burdensome and turning my head was simply impossible.


    Without hesitation, I burned all these images I could see from my limited vision before I closed my eyes again.


    In the discomforting brightness, I tried to analyze the information.


    ¡®A name, a teary young man looking at me. Inability to move my senses¡¯


    At that point something clicked.


    ¡®Reincarnation?¡¯


    That was the only assumption I could make during that time.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    There was no way for me to guess the day,


    My sense was still chaotic but it was much better than before.


    At least, I could temporarily open my eyes with no effort and turning my head to look at the surrounding was possible.


    The image was still blurring and it was hard for me to discern details.


    At the moment, I was looking at a young man attending to a young girl.


    The crimson haired woman was someone with great beauty, with motherly aura to top it off.


    They were chatting to each other,


    To be exact, the young male was having a one-sided dialogue energetically, whilst the girl was listening to him in smile.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.There was no way to recognize their speech, let alone interpreting their meaning.


    Looking at their compassionate gaze frequently fixed to me.


    I could confirm that I was the product of these two individuals.


    At their gaze, I responded by waving one of my hand towards them.


    Delightful expression was pasted on their face as they waved back to me.


    I looked at my raised hand and touched it with my other hand afterward.


    The warmth feeling of a life hand, the feeling of flesh on it.


    It was so realistic that I couldn¡¯t deny about the reincarnation theory anymore.


    I put my hand to rest, while was looking at the ceiling.


    Why would I be reincarnated in the first place?


    Is this a playful whim by the world? Or I was called here with a purpose?


    There were so many mystery lies about the reality I am in at this moment.


    To the point accepting them at face value without thinking much about it was too absurd.


    Neither that I had no recollection of any purpose aside from destroying that world, nor I have any leftover regret in that place.


    I had accepted it all.


    There was another thing that was bothering me,


    That I had complete memory about my previous self.


    Perhaps, the process of reincarnation also brought up memory from the previous life.


    Overwhelmed by too many complex ideas, I decided to rest my tired mind and postponed these issues for a later time.


    I looked at my family, their happy face was something relatively new to me.


    As an orphan, I had never meet with my parents before.


    There was a certain honesty and mysteriousness that attracted me towards their honest smile.


    A swirl of warm feeling was starting to appear within me, it was an emotion I had not felt for a long time.


    At the same time, the feeling that I was yearning for.


    The sense of belonging¡­


    ¡®Eh?¡¯


    Tears was flowing from my eyes uncontrollably.


    Because I could not stop the stream of tears, I forced my mouth to not let out any voice as to not distract the two


    A realization came with a simple thought as I closed my eyes.


    Whether this was a whim or joke of the world, I¡¯m grateful for it¡­


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Few weeks passed ever since that incident,


    The young girl that had given birth to me was already in fit condition.


    As such, the young man could resume his usual work and came home when the sun was setting down.


    Perhaps due to that, she treated me more affectionately than she used to be.


    Occasionally, an old woman came by while bringing some necessities and took her time satisfying my daily needs in the morning.


    Her motherly aura was multiple times more than my own mother.


    On a side note, it was awkward to be in clear insight of the things your family did when you were a baby.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time for me to adapt and get used with this ¡®take it for granted¡¯ routine.


    ¡°Ryuu~¡±


    Sometimes they would talk to me.


    I would ignore them most of the time.


    It was simply embarrassing to be treated like this, if possible I would like to escape from this hell.


    Also, there was the language barrier that made me unable to understand most of their conversation to myself.


    Although, I had a grasp of the situation around me.


    My father¡¯s name was Taiyou and his profession was known as a [Chemist], whose job was to brew variety of medicines to be sold in the village.


    He would frequently go to the surrounding mountains in search for materials, as well grabbing some food and game to feed the family.


    Hoshino Hana was the name of my mother, she was the integral part keeping the supply chain of medicines to the villagers.


    She ran a shop consisting of products his husband was brewing while providing order-to-made products from the village.


    She did all of this while being a housewife tasked with cooking and cleaning the house daily.


    The grandma that took care of me was called Ena, She was the wife of the village chief. Her main job was a [Healer], the one who specialized in treatment and recovery spell.


    On that note, she kept a close relationship with my family.


    While the world I lived at this moment was different from my original world, the world map that was posted on the wall gave me the evidence of that.


    It had five different continents, collectively known as the [World].


    This place was called Fuku, a village less than 300 people inside.


    The nearest settlement was about half a day distance by horse.


    In summary, this town was a peaceful and hidden one from outsiders.

 Chapter 2: His Early Days

    Three months had passed since his birth,


    Maple trees were shedding its leaves,


    Ryuu was looking outside the house from the open window, while her mom was attending to one of the customer looking around for medicine. She let the baby do what he want at that place while looking from behind.


    She couldn¡¯t help but to smile, ever since the child was around. Her days were no longer as lonely. He would accompany her during the time as a shopkeeper without fail. The child¡¯s eyes were serene and in complete focus, like he was connected with the sky above him.


    There was a book where Ryuu¡¯s left arm was resting on the cover; it was a thick book that Taiyou had been writing, the [Alchemic Journal].


    Despite the fancy name, the book was actually nothing more than the findings that he made in regards to medicine and brewing principles. The baby will open the journal at times, tried to understand the content, but it wouldn¡¯t last long before he closed it and continued to look over the window once again.


    He would try to make up words while he was reading the book, but was not able to articulate the words correctly, a child was only able to speak soundly after he reached one year old anyway.


    It was obvious that the book contain foreign language that is ancient to the baby.


    When she looked at the baby like this, a great worry surfaced from her mind. The baby was did things unthinkable for someone at his age, his attitude and actions simply unnatural.


    Everyday in the past, Hana saw him in difficulty reaching for the windows with the support of his two frail hands; she would quickly helped him to reach the window at first.


    At other times, he would spark an unusual curiosity towards the books that were lying around the shelf. He also preferred to lie himself in the empty spot on the counter, the same place where she would serve the customer during the day.


    In all, he would never cause her any trouble to the surrounding; the only time he cried was when he was born and ever since there was no sign of him crying anymore.


    A conclusion starts to appear within her mind,


    ¡®This type of personality, as if he had commenced his [Soul Link]¡¯


    She shook her head afterward,


    ¡®Impossible, it supposed to happen when a child reach 5 or 6 years¡¯


    ¡®But, this child had acted not like his age. I couldn¡¯t simply ignore the chances¡­¡¯


    As she pondered about her child, another customer come and broke her train of thought.


    ¡°Ah, welcome¡±


    She attended to another consumer with a big smile and brush her current thought at halt.


    ¡®I will consult this with my husband later¡­¡¯


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    At night that day,


    Ryuu woke up while his parents were in deep sleep.


    He observed their movement before he confirmed that they wouldn¡¯t wake up.


    After that he whispered.


    ¡°[Flight]¡±


    His body lightens and floated on the air, with no difficulties he hop over the wooden bar that prevented him from falling down from his bed and slowly descending his body to the floor underneath.


    He let his feet reaching the ground first, followed by his hand.


    ¡®Seriously, being a baby is too difficult.¡¯


    His weight returned to its normal state as he sighed a little about his own physical body.


    After a little rest, he gazed at the bookshelves which was located in the living area and crawled towards it.


    ¡®Where was it again¡­¡¯


    He inspected bookshelves and gazed at the selections located on the lowest layer before he stopped at a particular book.


    ¡®This is the one¡­¡¯


    Ryuu pulled the book out from the shelves to the ground and then it floated around him like what happened to his body earlier.


    With the book, he crawled towards the small hole in the door where people would put their package and pass through it to the outside.


    The season at the moment caused the backyard of the house to be filled with fallen maple leaves and well dry trees.


    On the terrace, Ryuu searched for the brightest area and put the book under the moonlight. It was then the cover book could be seen clearer, the wording was now recognizable.


    The title of the book was [Basic Theory of Magic].


    ¡®It¡¯s a little bit hard with the amount of lighting, but I can¡¯t complain much...¡¯


    ¡®The language is much harder to understand, too¡­¡¯


    He grumbled as he slowly looks at the words inside the book.


    He read the book swiftly as he tried to understand the part he could with his linguistic skills and grasp the basic concept of the book he chose. The saving grace was that he had the knowledge of the world he previously lived at. Thus, he could interpret the pictures in the book rather easily.


    Within 10 minutes, he closed the book as he came to a conclusion.


    Then he lay down, while his face was looking at the sky.


    He muttered a soft word as he raised his hand


    ¡°[Spirit Sight]¡±


    Then, a bluish sphere start to float on his right hand and he pushed it onto his eyes.


    The sphere starts to disintegrate into white dusts and absorbed into his pupil.


    Opening his eyes, the original reddish pupil had turned into bluish ones.


    At the same moment, he could now see changes within his vision.


    He could see green streams of energy swirling around; it was something he was familiar with.


    It was called [Spirit] in his old world. But the world here had called it [Mana].


    Ryuu raised his left hand and the streams had been sucked like a vortex on top of his palm and it was clustered into a dense concentration. After few moments, the stream dispersed and then clustered again.


    He repeated the process for a few times before lowering his hand to rest.


    ¡®Even the idea behind it is so similar. I think it¡¯s safe to say they are the same thing¡¯


    After confirming this, he raised both of his hands.


    The stream was absorbed into his body and transformed into a feeling of heaviness in his mind.


    ¡®The spirit is heavier¡­ Than expected. My physical body wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it much longer¡¯


    Ryuu was surprised by his own weak capability even though it was far from a point where he would lose control the mana.


    The feeling of fullness was contained within his body and he let it filled him for a moment.


    Before he chanted a spell with his mouth in his own language, although the articulation was really bad.


    ¡°[Icicle]¡±


    An explosive emission of blue dust was released from his small body.


    Few ice spears were hovering above his hand,


    He turned his head towards the outside and then he controlled the ice to flow outside the wooden house.


    The icicle moved towards the targeted area and made a dent to a charred tree.


    Ryuu looked at the icicle, then after a while. The icicle had dissipated into the thin air and turned into the green stream.


    ¡®I guess that confirmed it for now.¡¯


    Ryuu¡¯s irises went back into the usual reddish color and lost the ability to see the stream.


    With satisfaction he rolled his body and crawled back into the door.


    He put back the book to its original position and flew back to his bed after he fulfilled all the ¡®tasks¡¯ he wanted to do today. A surge of exhaustion was welling in his body, in addition to a relief that he was able to take a rest now.


    He took a look at the sleeping parents on his side.


    They were peacefully sleeping, after that he went to look up to the ceiling and raised his right hand.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t a dream¡­ Transported into another world as a baby, unbelievable...¡¯


    ¡®I am certain I was called here with a purpose in mind.¡¯


    He was skeptical about his arrival himself, the situation he was in was something too extraordinary for him to digest and believe at face value¡­


    ¡®I think what I can do now is to enjoy this new life and while at that train my body, while preparing for the future.¡¯


    ¡®After all, without strength, one could not protect what he wanted¡¯


    As he pondered many more thoughts and indulged in it


    Before long, he was asleep.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    #Optional


    Ever since that night,


    I took every opportunity I had to go out when my parents sleep at night.


    It had become a night routine for me to go out at this time for only during this time I had complete freedom at what I could do, without prying eyes.


    The reason behind my action is due to two things, which are on my priority list.


    One of them was language learning; another was for [Mana Training]


    Thus, the books that I read recently were fairly of the same type. They were picture books that had a small description on the pictures underneath written in the language that people use in this part of the area.


    My father brought these books one time when he had to go to other town to procure materials that were not existed surrounding forest. They were intended for me, to learn language, as soon I was able to understand words.


    I had a mixed feeling the first time I saw the childish books laying in front of me, sad for I was treated like a baby even though I had lived for a long time. Delighted due to the fact that they were the best materials to tidy up the scrambles of words I learned so far...


    ¡®Well¡­ Today¡¯s book is about¡­¡¯


    I peeked at the book cover as I took the place with the highest light intensity and a heavy feeling starts to hang over my mind.


    The cover title was [Princess¡¯s Daily Life] and it was drawn with a beautiful letters with princess sitting down having her tea break with the cup on her mouth.


    ¡®Dad¡­ What do you expect me to be, reading this story?¡¯


    It took me a while before I was able to calm myself down and opened the book heavy-heartedly and finished the book.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Haa~


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.I dropped the book and then put it away as I released all of the tension I had from the obligation of reading had done for the night.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how the royal princess do in their free time huh¡­¡± I had picked up the moral of the story of the book and roll down to lay the back of my head to the ground


    ¡°It¡¯s quite different from the royalty I know off, they are much more aggressive with extreme hobbies.¡± I tried to reminisce the people I recognized in the past and tried to compare them before I closed my eyes.


    ¡®That¡¯s enough reading¡­ Now for the other task¡­¡¯


    After taking a few deep breathe, the story seemed to melt from my memory and passed like a fleeting wind, leaving nothing but a void inside my mind.


    Indulging in this void for a few seconds was all I need to shift my state of mind,


    Opening my eyes and rising from my sleeping posture, my body didn¡¯t seem to coordinate that well; the movement was more sluggish and limited.


    It makes you think how difficult life as a baby.


    However, it didn¡¯t really take long for me to take the same position when I was releasing the [Icicle] spell.


    I put myself on sitting position and then mutter a phrase in my mind.


    My eyes changed its color from reddish to blue.


    Right now, I could utilize them without any external help


    [Spirit Sight]


    It was a skill that could sense the flow of mana.


    I commanded my body and the mana flow was absorbed into my body like a vacuum, the speed itself was somehow unprecedented and quick.


    A feeling of heaviness could be felt as more of the mist absorbed into my body.


    After a while, I was unable to hold the heaviness and then I pointed my finger to the burnt tree nearby the house. 5 ice spears had been formed and was launched at pinpoint accuracy. Hitting the bark of the tree mercilessly, before they dissipated into particles of mana.


    After the act, there was a certain heaviness lingered due to the usage of magic. I took this time to revise at the practice as I was waiting my body to recover from fatigue.


    15 seconds


    That was roughly the maximum time I could absorb mana at before it starts to take a toll to my physical body.


    People and some creatures in the world were able to wield the pure energy called mana to a certain extent. This pure energy could be transformed and applied into other elements temporarily by absorbing the energy and release them in different form, this application was known as [Magic].


    However, due to the incompatibility and capacity of the vessel, utilizing mana will result in exhaustion in soul and physique, this is the general truth.


    To overcome this limitation, one way was to engage in [Mana Training]


    The act simply was the constant subjecting of oneself with mana, interacting with them and let the soul and body adapt with the violent nature for a longer time.


    The direct benefit of the training was divided into two.


    -      Increased tolerance to mana (Soul), improving mental focus when controlling them.


    -      Physical Reinforcement (Physique), little bits of mana converted into nourishment for the body. Increasing body resilience as well mana capacity.


    After I realized my fatigue had recovered to a certain extent, I resumed my training and absorbed the mana from the surrounding.


    ¡­


    After the long night of training, my morning would start by the sweet smell of my mother¡¯s cooking. At this point of time, the prison bar that usually prevented me from slipping to the floor was opened, thus freeing me from the trouble of opening manually.


    Without fail, I would approach the kitchen table and stood by the open window as ventilation. I could smell the chilling autumn wind mixed with the food scent, the weather themselves was milder than the past weeks as the season was transforming into spring at any moment.


    I could sense the glances my mother made from my antics, which was worrying her at first. Remembering the first time she almost screamed when I approached the window was unbearable to see.


    I did realize my act was unlike a baby, at all.


    However, I stopped caring much about it after I realized I would stay in this damnable prison bed for years if I were to act normal baby and starts to climb the kitchen table for a better view.


    Recently, those worrying gaze had turned into a delightful smile, perhaps due to my persistence.


    At some point, she would leave the pot behind in the process and quickly approached the bedroom area, which was just 15 meters away from the kitchen.


    ¡°Taiyou, wake up¡±


    She gently rustled the body of a young male that was sleeping soundly.


    ¡°Uhhh, give me 5 minutes¡±


    ¡°Sleepyhead, didn¡¯t you say you wanted to harvest [Fall Orchid] today?¡±


    ¡­


    My father was someone who is not a morning person,


    Thus a discussion like this would ensue quite often.


    After mother spent a great effort,


    He would wake up while yawning most of the times due to sleepiness.


    Mother then would prepare the breakfast and we would eat together.


    She would spoon-feed me, as I was unable to do delicate control as to use spoon.


    The food I could eat was also limited to soggy bread and a jug of milk with the lack of teeth in my mouth.


    After we finished our breakfast, they would bring me outside from the backdoor. Father would be the one responsible to carry me while we were outside.


    He had a rough body, especially his hand. However, I paid no heed and enjoyed the free ride.


    The backyard was very close to the riverside, perhaps only 50 meters apart from the house, this would also be the place where we would clean ourselves. My father would clean me off while he cleaned himself together.


    At first, it took me surprised looking at him naked. But, I became immune with it after few days and adapt with the inescapable situation of having to see my father naked every now and then.


    Personally, I would prefer a woman to wash my body.


    Then my mother would be next in line, where she does it alone.


    At this time, my father would prepare his tools that were brought in his backpack and prepared me before my mother finished changing.


    After that, we would separate our ways.


    As father would usually took the way to the northern mountain while we took the way back to the shop.


    After all, my father was the sole chemist in the village and therefore responsible with the general health of the village alongside grandma Ena.


    The morning sun usually rose by the time we got back home,


    She would open the shop door and starts cleaning the area, where the places would get a lot of dust.


    Her house holding skill was really good, as if she was tuned for these tasks.


    Customer would come while she was sweeping and request some medicines.


    The demand for [Warm Lotion] and [Cold Potion] was at peak at this point of time in preparation for winter.


    Mother would be happily served the customer and remembered them all.


    There was no problem remembering the people in small villages like Fuku.


    Some of them would kindly give food to us for free or in exchange for some other goods.


    At this time, I would spend my time lying down in the counter while remembering the faces of the town.


    Though this changes at one time as I took an interest of my father¡¯s profession and started to look at the shop catalog and as my mother realized my interest in the book.


    She decided to lend me some more to distract my attention while she tend the customers.


    Thus, I learnt some basics information regarding chemistry and brewing.


    Of course, I would fall into sleep in the middle of reading, as I felt so tired and drowsy.


    The shop would close when the sun was setting down,


    At this time, I would either be awake or will be awaken by my mother.


    Either way, she would clean the shop and put the medicines on display to the storage area.


    As much I would like to help, I was only able to make her job difficult at this point so I decided to read more and leave her to her engine.


    Soon enough, the stuff had been done and my father would have come at this point of time.


    ¡°Hello! Im back!¡± He would cheerfully said that every single time without fail


    ¡°Taiyou! Welcome home¡± She would always stood in front of the house and bowed to him, without fail.


    I would also raise my hand and said some words, although my mouth was unable to articulate sound that well and my sound was gibberish when it¡¯s heard.


    Dinner is usually prepared after we took a dip in the river,


    While mother is cooking, my father would usually checked on his [Harvest] and started to explain to me his finding.


    Then he would process these materials in front of me.


    Although language was still difficult to understand, I could grasp a little bit of his words and made meaning out of it.


    Conclusions would appear sometimes,


    Like in the old world, there was no [Chemist], instead there were [Healer] who is proficient in healing spells and subscribing medicinal herbs.


    In this world, [Healer] was a loose term of anyone that has a healing spell, while [Chemist] is the one who manufacture [Potions] and other tools that could save people from disease.


    Through looking at this man, I learn the concept of Chemistry and potion brewing and truthfully, the person who is doing it was someone incredible.


    Of course, I had no comparison as of yet.


    Dinner would be lavish and fulfilling because my father was someone with a huge appetite and he would exhaust himself with the work he had to do.


    Chatter would be at its rowdiest during this time.


    I enjoyed this type of chatter and thankful for it.


    Then, night came.


    I would hear another lesson with my father or I would just sat down in the window area and looked at the sky outside.


    I had always admired the moon that could be seen at this time, they were brighter than the pale moon I see in my old world.


    Then, as the family went to deep sleep.


    The routine restarts once again, like an infinite loop


    #Optional End

 Chapter 3: The Truth Unfolding

    A year and a half had passed,


    Morning has come, the smell of his mother¡¯s cooking acted like an alarm for Ryuu,


    As he rubbed his eyes and slowly opened, a pair of red iris with dull luster could be seen.


    ¡®This sweet smell¡­ Today breakfast will be cream soup.¡¯


    Rolling his body and drop down from his bed and used his leg to support his weight, he quickly climbed the dining chair, towards the table and then to the windows. Approaching his mother who had noticed his presence coming.


    He curiously asked his mother, ¡°Mom, what food we are eating today?¡±


    Hana cheerfully replied to him, ¡°Cream soup, your father¡¯s favorite!¡±


    She stirred the pot slowly with a wooden ladle.


    ¡°The smell is so nice, mom¡± Ryuu nodded as he complimented her cooking.


    Then, he went back down and moved towards the book collection, which was just nearby the area.


    At this moment, He was able to move his body swiftly, also his linguistic skill was passable, minus the articulation. Her mother didn¡¯t seem to care about this and resumed her cooking.


    Looking at her calm face right now,


    Ryuu pondered about the time when his parents were shocked at the first time he spoke to his father one night when he was less than a year.


    ---


    One night,


    ¡°Father, how long have you been learning to brew potion? He asked with a soft voice.


    His language skill was perfect, at least for baby at that time.


    The look of his father was glued to him; he was unable to hide the surprise and messed up that particular synthesis.


    The same could be said from his mother, as she glared at Ryuu while her mouth went agape with the book she was reading fell down.


    He continued reading the book while enjoying himself, sitting on the chair while waiting for breakfast.


    ---


    Remembering that moment would bring cheer to Ryuu¡¯s heart.


    The day passed peacefully with the usual routine.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dinner Time,


    His father suddenly brought down his spoon and looked at his wife. Both of them nodded together, as if confirming something.


    ¡°Ryuu...¡± His father voice was rather stern towards his son.


    Ryuu was a little bit surprised by the change in voice, he raised his head questioned his father.


    ¡°Yes, father?¡± A soft reply.


    ¡°Which soul had you reincarnated from?¡± He inquired.


    A jolt of lightning made Ryuu¡¯s body stiff,


    His eyes were opened widely as his parents were asking that particular question.


    It was a direct question, and revelation.


    That he was actually someone who had been reincarnated instead.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t really sure at the truth just yet.


    ¡°Eh¡­ What are you talking about?¡± Ryuu was dumbfounded.


    His parents sighed after looking at the shocked expression of the guy. It became a confirmation to them.


    Her mother no longer smiled, she looked at him seriously.


    The motherly aura vanished, transformed into a domineering and pressuring ones like a warrior.


    ¡°You were reincarnated from some other world right? So which reincarnation were you from?¡±


    As the same question was repeated, Ryuu was sure that he was asked.


    Now, he stared at his parents, they looked expectant for the answer.


    Ryuu no longer hide it any longer, he had no intention to hide this fact anyway, especially when being found out wet handed like the current situation.


    He was just thinking, there was no real reason to tell them about this.


    However, from the sudden question asked, he was unsure where to start.


    Thus he sighed and closed his eyes with a smile.


    ¡°My kind parents, as much I would like to answer¡­ It¡¯s just hard for me to know where to start.¡±


    Silence ensued after that¡­


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­¡± Taiyou broke the ice afterwards while scratching his cheek.


    Both of them made a wry smile and then Hana tried to rephrase the question.


    ¡°Just try to explain what kind of life you had, your background.¡±


    Approached with that question, memories resurfaced inside his mind, it was few vivid recollection of his jobs and what he did.


    It was a memory of him beheading a laughing demon lord, while he was using a shining white armor. As he came back with the demon lord¡¯s head, four people were executed in as he stood in front of the king, betrayed and was surrounded by the kingdom troops.


    He went silent, his heart trembled as the memory surfaced and shook his emotion.


    ¡®Will I be rejected again? For the mistakes I made in the past?¡¯


    ¡®¡­Nah, I have decided to be honest, whether they reject me or accept me. It will be up to them.¡¯


    He steeled his mind and uttered a specific phrase that fit him the most.


    ¡°I have saved the humanity from its enemy, then destroyed the same humanity ever existed in that world.¡±


    ¡°Eh??¡± Ryuu¡¯s new parents were now astonished by the declaration and were stunned mentally.


    He gave them a wry smile and then sipped the morning milk, continued his speech.


    ¡°My previous life was that of a [Hero] and then turned into [Demon] who destroyed the world.¡±


    Without knowing, he had already clenched both of his hand into a fist under the table. As if he was waiting for a judgment to come.


    But, that judgment never came and instead was rewritten with a sigh from Taiyou while Hana laughed softly.


    ¡°Oh my... god, the heavens really played a trick on our son¡±


    Taiyou palm faced all of the sudden, his built-up tension had disappeared completely.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this¡­ But our son turned out to be this extraordinary.¡±


    Ryuu saw their reaction, and was dumbfounded.


    He expected many reactions, but this reactions left him astounded.


    Her mother looks at Ryuu and couldn¡¯t stop her laughing¡­


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.¡°It seems my dear¡¯s blood is thicker than mine.¡±


    ¡°More like your warrior blood had infested our child¡±


    ¡°Haaaaah¡­.¡± Taiyou sighed even more


    Looking at her mother laughing, Ryuu couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny???¡± He inquired his mom.


    Hana laughed a little bit more, before she starts speaking lightly.


    ¡°Sorry2¡­ Hearing this, from a small baby like you was too shocking¡±


    ¡°???¡± Ryuu¡¯s face was filled with confusion as he saw the absurdity of his parents.


    After a few moments of laughter,


    Taiyou, who composed himself and stop smiling, answered his son¡¯s question the best he could think at that moment.


    ¡°Ryuu, this world we are currently living now. Their soul was actually came from other world and reincarnated here.¡±


    ¡°The beasts you see, the human you talk. All beings in this world come from other world through reincarnation.¡±


    He stood then patted Ryuu¡¯s head,


    ¡°So in other words, you aren¡¯t the only one who had experienced this.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Ryuu was shocked by this revelation.


    Their parents nodded at the same time.


    Taiyou then scratched his finger to his own cheek then said with a wry smile,


    ¡°My past life used to be a [Mad Alchemist] who was killed by the king before he had finished his project.¡±


    As the father revealed his past, his mother sighed softly and smiled


    ¡°And my soul was a [Protector] who was sacrificed in the war against the god in my country.¡±


    ¡°How fitting the both of us had birthed a child whose former identity was a [Hero] and [Demon]¡± Hana continued the dialogue.


    ¡°¡­¡± Ryuu was speechless.


    ¡®It didn¡¯t seem they were lying; more like there was no point for them to lie at all.


    Thus, the only way was to accept this as the truth¡¯ Ryuu pondered about this deeply.


    ¡°Shocked?¡± She gave a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ So unbelievable¡­¡± Ryuu


    ¡°That¡¯s what we thought, too¡±


    Both of his parents sighed at the same time.


    Ryuu stood up in his surprise and to launch question in a questioning mien.


    ¡°Then¡­ How this world works? In my old world, we had our ways for almost everything. Even perpetual youth, but reincarnation was something unheard of.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but to ask his parents about this.


    They both were taken aback, but Taiyou calmly said.


    ¡°As for reincarnation, even in my world and Hana¡¯s world does not have the way.¡±


    ¡°As for the world works, we can only speculate from our knowledge.¡±


    ¡­ Ryuu sort off expecting this answer and he didn¡¯t blame anyone for not knowing it.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± He sat down.


    ¡°Although, the [World] seem to take souls that had some regrets or strong wish in their previous life.¡± Hana interjected the atmosphere.


    ¡®Regret? I had tons of it for sure. Though I compromised with them in the past.¡¯


    ¡°On that note, you are also someone who is a rarity by the world standard¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°Usually the people who were reincarnated here will have their previous memories when they are 5 or 6 years old.¡±


    ¡°We call this process [Soul Link]¡±


    ¡°There are some people who got this link earlier, 3 and 4 years were already rare. People who got it on their first year can be counted by hand.¡±


    ¡°But someone who gained it during his or her birth. It¡¯s unheard of¡±


    ¡°So you mean I am special?¡±


    ¡°Of course! If we go by the world¡¯s standard.¡± Hana raised her voice slightly


    Taiyou parents nodded.


    Ryuu sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t feel that special though. What¡¯s the difference between having it earlier and later?¡±


    ¡°Well, that part we don¡¯t really know.¡±


    The two parents simply brushed it off


    Ryuu expression quietens and he curiously asked,


    ¡°Mother, Father¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t you disown me?¡±


    Both of the parents had a perplexed and shocked look.


    ¡°Why would we!?¡± Her mother suddenly raised her voice due to the shock


    ¡°Well¡­ I had done so much bad deeds in my previous life..¡± He answered


    Hana understood the meaning and quickly laugh,


    ¡°We wont, we wont¡± she tried to reassure Ryuu.


    ¡°Even your stupid father was someone who was evil in his past life. Having another one wouldn¡¯t count for more.¡±


    ¡°In the end you are our only son, some people in this world may try to kill their child for such purpose. But your mother couldn¡¯t bear to shed her own lifeblood, right dear?¡±


    ¡°In the end, what matters is your new life.¡±


    ¡°On that note, I do hope you turned to be good though. I will be devastated if I see my child becoming a tyrant.¡± Taiyou commented from afar.


    ¡°More like, do you wish to be our child?¡± Hana inquired Ryuu instead.


    ¡°Of course I want!¡± He didn¡¯t think and quickly reacted.


    ¡°Pfft. A lonely child¡± Taiyou smirked.


    ¡°¡­¡± Ryuu blushed


    ¡°Could we continue this relationship despite the stuff you heard?¡± Ryuu asked them sincerely.


    ¡°Of course! No matter how, you are our child. It had been our new dream to have a child¡­¡± She was delighted and quickly approached her child and brought him up to her chest.


    Taiyou also approached and patted his head.


    ¡°So, have we reached a deal here?¡± He softly said


    ¡°Yes, Father¡± He gave a soft answer


    ¡®Indeed, I am thankful to be born in this family¡¯


    Ryuu was no longer had heaviness on his heart.


    He was liberated from the guilt he had from the past in this new life¡­

 Chapter 4: Measuring Strength

    The dinner on that day was completely longer than usual; the family was talking about the world and their respective past and traded information.


    Ryuu also had many inquiries, from a trivial questions to a complex ones. Their parents patiently answered each question. It was decided that the next morning would be a day off for the Chemist and the General Shop.


    It would be troublesome to the villagers but there seem to be no problem for a day off. Even though, there was only one general shop for all the 300 people in Fuku.


    Then a particular conversation appeared as Ryuu asked,


    ¡°Hmm, I know father is an [Chemist], but he also learnt about healing spells right?¡± I saw him healing two children before when they were injured in the past.


    Listening to that, Taiyou couldn¡¯t help but to brag


    ¡°Of course, your father is not only a proficient [Chemist], but also a proficient [Wizard] and healing spells are my specialties¡±


    ¡°Are you strong? In a battle or war?¡± Ryuu asked¡­


    A silence followed the question¡­


    Hana started to laugh softly and said.


    ¡°He has the potential to become a [Wizard] but he didn¡¯t train in other spells aside from healing. So he is limited to use his items as his arsenal.¡± She showed a winning air around her as she grinned in front of Taiyou.


    Taiyou suddenly sighed and palm faced,


    ¡°You are just a battle freak.¡±


    Ryuu switched towards her mother and asked,


    ¡°Mom, are you strong?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am! Not only am I a perfect mother, but also a great warrior. Your father must be happy to marry someone capable as me.¡± Hana raised her chest towards me.


    ¡°Then mother, could you spar with me?¡± Ryuu calmly asked


    Then, his parents faces started to become astonished.


    Of course, they had listened to some of my past and nodded. However, it seems they still underestimated the strength because it was a year old baby who can barely run.


    ¡°Hey2¡­ My son, I know you are a Hero/Demon lord. But you are still less than two year old baby¡±


    ¡°How could you fight with a full-pledged brute like Hana?¡± Taiyou was sincerely worried about his son outrageousness.


    ¡°Hey, the brute is uncalled for. But he¡¯s right. Ryuu, how would you fight against me when you couldn¡¯t even wield a weapon?¡± Hana asked Ryuu.


    Ryuu had expected this word because he understands fully that he was incapable. However, he tried to reassure their family.


    ¡°Do not worry mom, father. I had already measured my power. I think I can give a decent fight as long I give my full effort.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± She doubted the word of his child.


    ¡°Well¡­ I know it¡¯s outrageous, I just wanted to measure the strength of people in this world. As for now, my parents are the one I could trust to do it, may I?¡± Ryuu eyes were serious and glared at his parents.


    As they saw the serious eyes, Hana start to worry and looked at Taiyou.


    His father sighed and said, ¡°If you insist. We can try to do a mock fight on the backyard¡±


    ¡°Thank you father¡­¡± Ryuu bowed to him.


    As the family had reached agreement, they switched places to outside


    As they reached the door¡­


    Ryuu said to her mom,


    ¡°Oh yeah mom, just in case bring your sword¡±


    Her mom was dumbfounded and had so many questions arise,


    ¡°How did you know that I had a weapon?¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The backyard had two paths,


    One of them lead to the river, another to a flower field which was an alternate route to the forest mountain. It was summer and currently the sunflowers was in its full bloom.


    In the middle of the open field. Stood her mother and Ryuu with his ragged shirt.


    Her mother was using simple clothing that were suited for movement.


    They were already distanced themselves 20-30 meters apart and had been preparing themselves for a mock battle.


    Taiyou was a little bit apart from the area of battle, he was acting as the medic and referee.


    ¡°Alright, preparation is done. You two can go anytime¡±


    He waved his hand with his muscular body.


    Hana got the go signal, she started to look at Ryuu and quickly shouted.


    ¡°My child, you have brought this to yourself.¡±


    ¡°As you know, despite me being a mother. I am also a warrior and will never back down from any match. So brace yourself¡±


    ¡°We were also interested in your fighting power. But we wanted to test you after you are a little bit bigger. Although, I will use this opportunity to measure your strength right now!¡±


    Despite that, she didn¡¯t utilize her sword and let it sheathed and she decided not to use them.


    ¡®She¡¯s not using the weapon¡­ I should say katana¡¯


    Katana was a long,narrow sword that was famous in his old world.


    Ryuu sighed and came to a realization while looking at his father wryly.


    ¡®My mother is truly a battle freak like father said¡¯


    ¡°Okay mom, as long you do not use your full power on the first hit, I will not die.¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, you can fight as you like¡± Ryuu comfortably replied to her mother.


    ¡®I have to be serious, after all the physical handicap is too far¡¯


    He made a wry smile


    ¡®Well, at least within the realm of regular human.¡¯


    He closed his eyes and then he start to chant a spell in his mind.


    ¡°[Reinforce]¡±


    His whole body was covered with a continuous green aura,


    ¡®This infant body is way too weak to contend one hit without further reinforcement¡¯


    As he confirmed the spell has succeeded.


    ¡°Here I come!¡± Ryuu moved his first feet and he disappeared from the Hana¡¯s sight¡­


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡®Fast!¡¯ Hana was surprised by the speed Ryuu could muster.


    She quickly raised her finger towards the person,


    ¡°Hear my command, Fire that tracks its target. [Homing Fire]!¡±


    Three fireballs were summoned from the thin air and it quickly homed towards the child.


    Ryuu saw the attack and he quickly reacted by raising his left arm, protecting his face.


    A direct impact collided between the child and the 3 fireballs. However, the child did not pay any heed and his speed was not decreased at all, while the fireballs disappeared.


    His recklessness was unexpected but she quickly anticipated by raising her guard and then pointed her hand again.


    ¡°The invisible wind, protect me from my adversary. [Wind Force]¡±


    A translucent wind formed, creating an obstacle of air pressure. The high pressure would speed down any incoming forces and act as a shield.


    However, in front of this. He did not hesitate and instead, he used all of his power on his left leg and charged towards his mother.


    He raised his right fist and hit the barrier of the wind. A loud impact could be heard, it caused Ryuu¡¯s movement to be halted completely but his fist also dissipated the air wall.


    But, Ryuu had not finished his attack yet. He quickly combined both of his palms and created a flower hand.


    ¡°[Fist Energy: Linear]¡± A surge of energy was formed between his hand, and then a surge of light beam was shot directly towards the tummy of his mother.


    Hana was shocked by the sudden energy release and quickly step backward to avoid the impact.


    However, it was already too late. She was only able to move half a step backward.


    The light beam impact had forcibly flung her body into the air and made her fell down towards the hard ground.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡®Was it too hard?¡¯ Ryuu was shocked.


    The energy he had used was enough to knock a soldier in his previous world.


    He did not hesitate and followed after the trajectory.


    But before he could reach her, she had stood up and rustled her clothes, whipped out the dust on her dress.


    ¡°My child, I can¡¯t look down on you anymore¡± Hana said that.


    As Ryuu heard the vitality from her voice, he was certain the attack did not cause her to fall. More like she was pumped up.


    ¡®Her body was tempered to a point she could take the strike up front and still remain calm.¡¯


    ¡®So energetic, that¡¯s good in a way¡­¡¯


    Ryuu was smiling all over his face, he wasn¡¯t able to contain the excitement of battle.


    Hana unsheathed the blade and showed the katana that she held, showing the prowess of its maker. Steel that could reflect the surrounding clearly, with a flower petal crest engraved on the hilt.


    She put the sword perpendicular from her standing posture.


    A voice interrupted for the distant, it was Taiyou.


    ¡°Honey, please do not take it too far!¡±


    She nodded towards Taiyou and then charged towards Ryuu, whom had prepared himself from afar


    A sonic boom was created from the speed, and the ground had already cracked by her step. In an instant, she had appeared directly in front of Ryuu, with her katana trajectory directly on his head.


    Ryuu quickly anticipated by putting both of his arms on top of the katana. On his arm there was a deep green light covered, blocking the sword from causing a deep injury to his skin. Although, his arm was still scraped due to the sword force.


    The sword and arm clashed to each other causing a shockwave due to the impact.


    However, neither Ryuu nor his mother was blown away.


    Instead, she retreated for half a step, fixing her posture and launched two slashes towards the same spot.


    The first slash caused Ryuu¡¯s to tumble backwards, the other slash caused him to blow away to the air further away from the clash. Although, he managed to regain his posture as soon he touched the ground.


    While he was blown away on the air, Hana sheathed the blade and did a fast draw posture.


    ¡°Hoshino¡¯s Secret Art: [Crescent Cut]¡± She muttered a word, inaudible to the surrounding.


    ¡°Oi Hana! You seriously want to kill my son?!¡± Taiyou shouted from afar as he realized the stance of his wife. His voice was too distant to be heard by both fighter though.


    This time, Ryuu was certain of the next attack were going to be tougher even from the first.


    ¡®That stance¡­ I better observe and avoid direct confrontation¡¯


    ¡°[Flight]¡±


    He muttered a word as he tried to avoid the sword range.


    However, a sudden magic circle appeared above him, creating a spiral of wind similar to a serpent.


    ¡®Crap!¡¯ Ryuu criticized the ambush from his own mother and cancelled his flying spell.


    He had raised the output of his mana in his body and caused the green aura around him to intensify.


    A downburst had forcefully pushed his small body towards the ground. However, he was still standing straight while fighting the pressure that could crack a tree in halves.


    As he had rooted to the ground, Hana had pushed her left feet and a fire aura had clouded her body.


    In a flash she had caused a sonic boom once more, but the speed was greater and left a trail of blaze on the place she had moved.


    ¡®[Mana: Barrier]¡¯ He muttered a word as a translucent wave was formed in front of him around 10 meters apart in the form of wall. It was very thin but was filled with numerous layers.


    In a flash, the barriers had clashed with Hana¡¯s body but wasn¡¯t able to decrease her speed at all.


    ¡®Geez, that didn¡¯t work at all!¡¯


    Ryuu critized at the uselessness of the barrier.


    Ryuu raised both of his arms with his feet on the ground, this time he channeled the green aura onto the arm and a little to his feet, he had went full defensive.


    Then, the woman appeared in front of him, somersaulted, then she unsheathed the blade, reaching for the arm, sheathed it back, and then with an unnatural angle she had slowed down and reached the ground with a gentle step behind him.


    ¡­. A silence ensued


    Ryuu¡¯s right arm had been cut quite deeply but somehow the injury was completely burned and there


    ¡°That attack had cost you your life, my child¡± As his mother slowly stated with a dignified voice.


    She had smiled from the victory, as if looking down at the person in front of her.


    Whereas Ryuu widen his eyes, as his defense were pierced with the single attack from her.


    ¡®She covered her body in flame essence, utilizing the power to burst in movement speed.¡¯


    ¡®Then, focusing that essence into the blade before she attacked. Making it sharper and increasing its lethality.¡¯


    ¡®Furthermore, the delicate control and timing of her swing.¡¯


    Speed, Technique and Strength. She had all of them in her.


    ¡®Her Katana art was the most refined amongst those I have seen.¡¯


    ¡®Considering the requirement needed to master and execute the art flawlessly. How admirable.¡¯


    As he recalled the whole event, his mouth had turned into a grin and he looked up towards the warrior in front of her.


    His stamina was still full and his body was still functioning well, he could¡¯ve continued the fight if he wanted to.


    But as she had stated, my life would be over if she had went serious with that attack.


    ¡°I give up!¡± Ryuu raised both of his hand and surrendered himself.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After the towel had been thrown, Taiyou quickly moved towards the two people.


    He was worried for Ryuu¡¯s health, however as he approached towards the two.


    Ryuu had stood there, calmly while his right arm was bleeding profusely. Whereas, Hana had stood beside him, with a gentle complexion. As if the warrior before never appeared.


    Looking at them, Taiyou couldn¡¯t help but was relieved. He slowly kneeled down and had taken a look at Ryuu¡¯s injury. After that, he took out a red-colored vial from his waist bag and slowly poured it onto the hand.


    Ryuu looked at the potion and felt a surge of energy had been concentrated on the arm, causing his arm to regenerate quickly.


    ¡®That¡¯s a potent potion¡­¡¯ His mind commented at the rapid effect.


    After finishing the treatment, all of them were walking back towards the house.


    The sun that gave a gentle light had intensified, causing the cold temperature to become a little bit bearable.


    The crowd had been chatting happily; they were talking about many things, although most of the conversations were happening between his parents.


    Whereas Ryuu had been pondering about something and his response was absent-minded.


    The parent could only sighed and then as they had reached the entrance of the house.


    Ryuu stopped and caused his parents to be in confusion, Hana looked back at him and asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong my child?¡±


    ¡­ Ryuu was in silence for a short while, before he raised his head again. This time towards both of his parents. Then he kneeled in front of the two,


    ¡°Please teach me your way of the sword and the path to chemistry!¡±


    At that moment, both of his parents¡¯ eyes were widen and was shocked at the sudden request by their own one year olds child.


    The snow that fell from the roof was the only sound could be heard after the complete silence on that area.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 5: Childhood

    Fifth year, second month of his age.


    The dusk was still apparent; the sun had not risen up yet.


    Maple leaf was rapidly shedding in the middle of autumn.


    The windy breeze was rather violent, making the weather at this time unfavorable.


    All the people around the town were still sleeping peacefully, except for one.


    A young child had been sighted on a particular flower field.


    On his left arm, he had wielded a wakizashi. His height didn¡¯t allow him to wield a normal katana.


    Taking a step forward and bashed the weapon downwards, then moved a step back raiding his sword up again.


    He repeated this stance without a care of the harsh weather.


    His sweat that flooded from the body had shown that he trained himself towards the limit.


    He was cladded in green aura, which was a [Reinforce] spell he used the other day.


    In the multitude of times he swung the sword and ignoring the passage of time. The gentle morning light replaced the dusk.


    ¡®It¡¯s time¡­¡¯


    After he put the sword back to its sheath and disable his aura and proceed to the riverside where he took a dip to wash his body before he went home.


    Opening the door, a unique smell had invaded his nose and caused him to look at the direction of the kitchen.


    Steams hovered above the pot, as well a presence of his mother cooking gracefully.


    ¡°Morning mom, curry?¡± Ryuu approached her; he took a glance inside the pot.


    Her mom smiled back at him, ¡°Yup, today we will have boar curry¡±


    Ryuu had confirmed his breakfast, he felt down a little bit and approached the front door, taking a bag in the way, and said languidly.


    ¡°Such great food, im depressed¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re leaving early to the forge?¡± She inquired


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Oh mom, leave some curry behind for me¡± A nonchalant answer from the child and he opened the front door and quickly left with his weapon strapped on his waist.


    ¡°Sure¡± She happily waved her free hand towards the leaving young kid.


    Ryuu slowly disappeared from the house with a smooth and gentle movement, yet swift and agile like the wind.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Ryuu¡¯s house was a little bit detached from the village area because it was nearby the forest area which was reachable from the backyard.


    The front door Ryuu took was a direct path leading to the village which was about 15 minutes walking distance.


    It didn¡¯t take him too long before he arrived at the village.


    Fuku village itself was kept hidden, thus the buildings were kept in its minimum size and the great buildings were all located in the central area.


    It was early in the morning but he could already observe some people were already doing their activities. There were few children at his age that was pumping water from a distance, as well some mothers gossiping about the rumors and news around the village.


    Ryuu recognized as some of them frequented the shop, one of the gossiping mom gazed at his presence and he bowed to the person in response and hastily moved away.


    She seems to understand and replied with a gentle wave and spoke.


    ¡°Be safe¡±


    Ryuu felt a little warm with its reception and he gained some mental strength from there. He would greet exchange with few more other people before he reached in front of a brick house with chimney on top of it.


    ¡®No way¡­¡¯


    Ryuu¡¯s face paled after he saw the chimney was puffing smokes,


    With a small sigh he came into the house


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    As the door creaked, an angry voice could be heard from inside.


    ¡°You¡¯re late!¡±


    With a pale face, Ryuu came inside and put the sack beside the entrance and approached the back of the man who was focusing on the burning forge.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Master Cross!¡±


    With a pale face he tried his best to muster his earnest voice in the morning.


    ¡°You will temper that as a penalty, in addition to today¡¯s class¡± He raised his hammer and then pointed to a distance, Ryuu traced his movement and looked at the mountain of utensils and hunting tools.


    Looking at the mountain of junks waiting to be repaired, Ryuu was unable to keep his word and said


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish that much within ---¡°


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?¡± The man interrupted the child¡¯s speech and turned his angry head towards him.


    His long beards, small stature, rough and ugly face had glared at him with a threatening pose.


    ¡®Holy Shit!¡¯


    ¡®If face could kill, he would be as lethal as a demon lord¡¯


    Coincidentally, the dwarf race was gifted with rough facial structure, like a rock. Although the man in front of Ryuu had taken it a little bit further.


    Ryuu was surprised and shocked as a single idea passed his mind. But he quickly changed his hid his expression .


    ¡°No-nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°Then get to work!¡± He then faced back towards the furnace and resuming his job.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± He had lost his will fighting over the domineering person and took the first knife on the mountain and starts to do his job.


    A memory resurfaced from his mind, the reason of why he was here.


    ------


    Certain one night,


    ¡°Ryuu¡­ I think it¡¯s time for you.¡± A voice could be heard as I was chewing a piece of meat.


    I looked at the person who said that, he was none other than Taiyou, my father.


    ¡°What time?¡± I asked him after I gulped the piece of meat.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to contribute for the society.¡± He crossed his arm and closed his eyes as he acted like a upright person.


    At this point, a woman voice replied,


    ¡°Oh right, Ryuu is almost at his working age.¡± She put down her spoon and came into realization.


    Taiyou nodded a few times in agreement and then suddenly opened his eyes.


    ¡°So! You should quickly find some work!¡± He pointed his right hand to me.


    I was speechless at the speed at which this topic was going, but after I had thought about it before, after I saw all of the children above certain in the village were certainly working.


    I had my suspicion that people who finished [Soul Link] would have to work in this village.


    Therefore I started to open my mouth


    ¡°Where should I ¨C¡°


    ¡°I have thought of a job for you!¡± Father interjected in the middle of my question.


    I was surprised by this statement and retorted at once,


    ¡°Eh?! Can¡¯t I pick my¨C¡°


    ¡°This job should be perfect for you!¡° He then took out a letter from the pocket of his ragged cloth and dropped it with excitement.


    I took the letter and read the content; it was actually just a simple statement


    [I, Hoshino Ryuu, will contribute to the society under Mastersmith Cross Fulcrum]


    I jumped out from my seat and shouted at him in unhappiness


    ¡°Dad! You completely decided on my job already, aren¡¯t you!¡±


    ¡°Taiyou¡­ You really¡­¡± Her mother made a wry smile as read the content.


    My father looked at her with a grinning face,


    ¡°It¡¯s just that when Ena asked me, I couldn¡¯t really reject her.¡±


    Then he faced towards me and smirked,


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it would be fun to have Ryuu contend against that old dwarf.¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s true¡± Hana said in agreement.


    Then a carefree laughter filled the dining room, completely leaving me out from the loop as I gave out fighting against them.


    ¡®Although, a dwarf?¡¯


    Dwarf was a famous race gifted with strength and artistry. They were known for their legendary equipment. Also, they were known to garner the closest relationship with the Ent race, a plant species that had gained enlightenment and granted life with intelligence.


    ----


    ¡®What a nightmare¡¯


    Ryuu thought to himself, as he wanted to put out the knife he burned and heat it on water.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Hold it¡± The huge arm suddenly pressed Ryuu¡¯s arm, making it unable to move


    ¡°Kid, it¡¯s still lacking heat. You need 8 more seconds before you cool it off.¡± He started to do sermon for him.


    Afterwards, he released his arm and continued at his own job.


    ¡®Well, he¡¯s definitely a Master smith¡¯ Ryuu wryly smiled as he continued at his job.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°I¡¯m home¡± With a tired voice; Ryuu took the sack back to the house.


    ¡°Welcome home¡± Hana smiled at him


    ¡°Did you have fun?¡± Taiyou asked as he chewed at the curry.


    At his nonchalant attitude, Ryuu gave his response as he took the seat opposite them in a tired mood.


    ¡°I tempered the whole village utensils to the point I don¡¯t want to see knife anymore today¡±


    Hearing that, Taiyou was startled


    ¡°H-he¡¯s really uses you...¡±


    Ryuu didn¡¯t bother to answer ate the leftover curry heartily without hesitation. Soon enough, the mountain of white rice and sauce disappeared into his stomach.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Father, how¡¯s this?¡±


    Ryuu took out a red fluid inside a vial from the sack he brought out to the forge and presented it to his father


    Taiyou took the vial and held the reddish colored potion high up with his right hand as he inspected the content.


    ¡°Hmm¡­this is on the 6th tier grade¡±


    ¡°You can put them on the case and send it to our clients. It¡¯s safe to consume¡±


    He put down the potions and then he look at the person in front of him,


    Ryuu had been sitting down while trying to understand the method his father was inspecting. He had been brewing potion on his little break time at the forge using the materials from the sack.


    Potions are graded by its effectiveness, which to a certain extent can be inspected through the 5 senses, particularly the smell and eyes.


    ¡°This is tough¡­ I can¡¯t even discern the quality of my own potion.¡± He grabbed his head and rustled his hair in irritation.


    However, this require handful of experience as each potion have different way to tell its standard and so Ryuu was not able to determine the grade with certainty.


    ¡°If the job is that easy, I wouldn¡¯t have anything to eat during my previous life!¡±


    Taiyou made a painful smile to him and say,


    ¡°At this rate, you would beat me as soon you mastered the stuff in the [Alchemic Journal] that I wrote. How terrifying¡­ Is this talent?¡±


    Taiyou then pretended to be depressed and wondered about the unfairness of the world as he made a self-dialogue.


    Ryuu ignored him and instead told him clearly,


    ¡°How so? A 6th grade means nothing in front of a person that could create 1st tier potion without even being serious. More like, how long you would hang me to the basics. I think 3 years is more than enough.¡±


    ¡°So impatient! There¡¯s really nothing I can teach you anymore. Hmph!¡± Taiyou pretended to be mad, he was going to avoid the topic as he stood up and moved towards his wife that was reading on the dining table.


    ¡°Honey! Would you love me tonight as well?!¡± He started to flirt towards her on purpose. Hana then made a gentle look towards him and she refused him flat out.


    Soon it turned into mindless discussion as his parents were trying to persuade each other. Making Ryuu sighed deeply and starts to read the [Alchemic Journal] once more


    ¡®Perhaps, there are certain things hidden in this journal that I might missed.¡¯


    He muttered inaudibly as he wishfully could gain an answer from re-reading the book on how to improve his [Chemist] skill even more.


    But, it was soon enough his pace was distracted by a clanking sound beside him which was rather loud.


    He looked at the source; his wakizashi has been thrown there and after realizing it. Ryuu quickly closed the book and he tied the weapon on his right waist and stood up, looking at the person that had been waiting for him.


    ¡°Dearest Son, it¡¯s time for your night training¡± A gentle sound echoed to his ear and thought.


    ¡®¡­I see, my day has yet to finish huh.¡¯ Ryuu resigned and followed her mother that took the back door towards the usual training ground.


    ¡­


    After few hours of training


    ¡°No! The swing motion must be sharper, your swing is causing too much exposure to yourself.¡±


    A shout could be heard and resounded on the empty field.


    ¡°Like this¡±


    She swung her katana with a single motion, her posture was very graceful and the slash had caused cut a leaf cleanly in halves.


    As she gave out an example, Ryuu took out his smaller blade and tried to follow the example of the woman.


    As he slashed the falling leaves in one motion, the leaf was cut uncleanly; the surrounding was a little bit damaged instead of being cleanly cut in halves.


    It was a failure, Ryuu sheathe his sword. He became a little bit restless, as he could not replicate what his mother had done.


    ¡°That swing was too anxious, it caused some of the power to disperse to the surrounding.¡±


    At this point, Hana had no choice but to sit down beside him and accompanied him in the midst of the grass field, under the tree where they trained.


    ¡°Sit down, Ryuu¡± She patted the ground beside her and Ryuu nodded and followed suit.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think learning the art of Hoshino could be this tough¡± Ryuu softly asked


    Hana chuckled at his blunt comment and gracefully spoke


    ¡°Ryuu, your state is like an inexhaustible flame, an energy very aggressive. You should learn to contain those flame and try to be calmer.¡±


    ¡°The basic of Hoshino Art put emphasize on stillness, sharpness and way of the silent.¡±


    Hana unsheathe her sword and start swinging her katana onto the falling leaves as she sat down. Her swing was slow, like it was powerless. But each slash could cleanly cut a leaf into halves.


    She repeated her slashes for another two times before she sheathed her weapon.


    ¡°Meditate and think about it Ryuu¡±


    Hana stood up and left him alone, she wanted him to reflect on the study today.


    Ryuu looked at her as her presence disappeared from the sight.


    ¡°Haa~¡±


    He let out a sigh as his tension was released from the earlier sermon. He used the grass as his cushion as he rested.


    ¡®I¡¯ve endured myself on the same training for three months¡­¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯m having difficulties in grasping the concept of Hoshino arts.¡¯


    ¡®Well¡­ Considering I was too focused on my purpose in the past, I didn¡¯t bother to look at other weapon art¡¯


    ¡®¡­ Now, I am just looking for excuses for my lacking abilities.¡¯


    Ryuu made an enjoyable smile as he rested,


    A mad alchemist had taught me how to brew potion,


    A woman had taught me how to teach how to fight,


    Even a dwarf had taught me how to smith.


    ¡®I learned so many things, enjoying myself in mastering them¡¯


    ¡®What a carefree life I am living now¡­¡¯


    ¡®But¡­ It¡¯s not too bad.¡¯


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    He stood up and then he took a posture, this time he took sometime before he wanted to swing his weapon. Trying his best to understand the mystery behind [Hoshino Art].


    But as he wanted to swing his wakizashi, a horrifying wail reverberated from a distance.


    Not long after, it was followed with an earthquake that caused the surrounding flower field to shake in its tremor.


    Ryuu raised his guard and quickly flew up using magic to avoid the earthquake from affecting him. However, his preparation was unneeded as the earthquake stopped few seconds after he was hovering on the air.


    He didn¡¯t directly cancel his spell but was starting to look at his surrounding, his irises had turned into blue and gained his ability to read the flow of mana.


    It was then he locked his sight upon a direction, a single mountain which had quite an impression to him first time he saw it. He could sense the surrounding mana over that place was moving more violently.


    ¡®That hill¡­ Something must¡¯ve happened over there.¡¯


    He cancelled his flight as his mind was deep in thoughts.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 6: The Sacred Hill

    The next day,


    Ryuu and his parent was walking along the riverside after their morning bath.


    With curiosity, He used the opportunity to ask them about the last night event.


    "Mom, Dad. The earthquake yesterday was quite terrifying right?"


    Hearing that, both of his parent looked back.


    ""Earthquake?""


    "Yeah, there was a huge tremor yesterday right?"


    With a confused look, Taiyou shook his head while looking at his wife


    "I didn''t feel anything yesterday, how about you Hana?"


    "Nothing... It was calm and peaceful."


    She shook her head in agreement with Taiyou.


    "Really? It was a huge one you know..."


    Ryuu was perplexed over his parents answer as he probed the two of them in doubtful look.


    ''It was impossible to miss the huge tremor even if it was a short earthquake. The house is nearer to that hill than the flower field.''


    ''Just what is happening?''


    At first, Ryuu only wanted to know his parents condition last night and would forget all about it afterwards.


    However, with the unnatural circumstances that was happening around, he could not simply ignore the occurrence.


    Ryuu''s step halted, his gaze was fixed onto their parents as he was indulged in his train of thoughts.


    ''I doubt they purposely smoke me... Unless they really think that I was a regular five-years old boy?''


    Even if Ryuu was still less than six years old in his physical body; his mental age was actually a few decades older.


    It was unreasonable to betray his trust upon a simple matter like this.


    "What''s wrong Ryuu?"


    His mother''s voice was calling him from afar.


    He shook his head and chased after his parents.


    ''I should look further...''


    He was determined.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Ryuu was passing through the crowds in Fuku Village as he hastily ran towards the forge.


    "The training made me lose track of the time!" He cursed himself loudly.


    He ignored the peering eyes of the neighbor as he was chasing the house with a chimney on top of it.


    Although, his pace slowed down as he realized there wasn''t any smoke puffing out from it until he reached in front of the place.


    "Whoa... I actually made it in time!"


    A surge of relief filled his body and mind, as he made a cynical remark on top of it.


    He didn''t want to hear those sermons and absolutely not the penalty work that came with it.


    "I''m here..."


    With a lighthearted step, Ryuu came into the forge and greeted his master, just to realize that he wasn''t in his favorite stool.


    The dwarf was standing behind a table and gazed the chunk of black metal over the table seriously, he ignored the presence of his apprentice that had come. Tension filled the air around him and part of it was diffused in the forge.


    Looking at the seriousness, Ryuu decided to position himself behind the the dwarf in careful approach by avoiding direct contact with his sight.


    His master didn''t seem to recognize his presence as he was scrubbing his nose while staring at the metal


    He then took the chance to observe the Cross'' subtlest movement while enjoying himself.


    After a while observing, Ryuu could see the dwarf nodded and extending his hand to touch the metal. However, he then retreated his hand back and once again pondering in his position.


    The cycle repeated many times


    Ryuu made a wry smile at the indecisiveness.


    ''This ain''t going anywhere.''


    He stepped forward and grabbed the chunk of metal in excitement


    "Wow! Isn''t this a great metal, master?"


    With an exaggerated voice he raised the material up to the sky, in hope of destroying the dwarf''s thinking cycle.


    "KID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"


    At the sudden sight, the dwarf gnashed his mouth and quickly snatched the metal back and put it back to the table.


    "Well, It piques me what''s so special about the metal that magically attracting your attention"


    "YOU! Do you know how precious that thing is?" Cross exclaimed at Ryuu


    "No, in the first place, that''s why i asked you right?"


    "I sure ain''t telling anyone who handled metal like that!" With an outburst of anger, the dwarf shouted towards Ryuu.


    "Can you blame me for treating it carelessly? You didn''t even tell me the worth of the metal?" He crossed his arm as he looked down at the dwarf.


    "I doubt you could understand the worth of such metal!" Cross snorted in refusal.


    "Humor me, Master Cross"


    "You..!" The dwarf face became red in anger but couldn''t find a comeback for the word...


    However, his anger suddenly turned into an ugly smirk, approached his apprentice and gripped on the shoulders with both of his hands.


    "Fine! I will impart to you the beauty of this metal and how precious it is."


    The grip was getting stronger and an illusion of an ugly demon appeared from his back, at least in Ryuu''s vision.


    "But if you failed on grasping the value, I will ensure you will have the best out of all penalty work you had done today."


    Words was like a magic.


    Ryuu suddenly lost all of his energy and his face paled out.


    With a regret he cursed the world for all of his earlier idiocy, then as his mind was screaming in front of his master


    ''I sure blew up a huge mine...''


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    "You''re one hell of lucky bastard, Ryuu" Said the dwarf as he was sitting in his favorite stool while grumbling about his dissatisfaction over his apprentice.


    Ryuu sat down beside the man and let out a huge sigh of relief as he was looking at the irritation of the man.


    "Lucky me, the metal background wasn''t anything too special in the end. There wasn''t really anything new to comprehend."


    "Anyhow, I''ll be damned if I have to do outrageous penalty job again."


    He took a chunk of iron and start heating them inside the furnace. While his master was still rummaging around the tools to continue his daily work.


    As an apprentice, Ryuu¡¯s job was usually limited to menial tasks such as cleaning the forge, sweeping, etc. However, due to the lack of labor in the forge. He was tasked with tool creation for Fuku Villages under the guidance of the master smith. At this moment, he could create simple tools such as knifes and cooking utensils at standard grade.


    As Ryuu wanted felt the steel was hot enough and took it out, but a word prevented him from doing so.


    ¡°No, you have to keep them for another 2 seconds in fire at that rate.¡±


    The dwarf then sat down beside him and start to do his own work and left Ryuu at his own world, as if he was non-existent after the advice. Ryuu followed his advice before he starts on put it on anvil and work on it.


    The work was monotonous; creating tools after tools without ending. The constant clanking of hammer and steel had made it enjoyable for him, like it had a certain rhythm that could appease the heart.


    In the middle of such times, Ryuu suddenly asked his master who worked beside him,


    ¡°Oh right master, may I ask few questions?¡±


    ¡°What do you want kid?¡± he was still immersed in his own work but responded attentively.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the earthquake yesterday¡­ Did you feel it?¡±


    ¡°What earthquake? If there was the village would be torn into crumbles¡± His cynical remark was all over the place.


    ¡°It was a huge earthquake, I find it strange for the village to not be affected.¡±


    Ryuu hammered the iron into anvil and formed a blade afterwards and continued his talk.


    ¡°No such thing kid, you must be drunk¡±


    ¡®I¡¯m almost certain there¡¯s something up here¡­¡¯


    Ryuu sighed softly


    ¡°Master Cross, is there a mountain nearby the Fuku Village that is different from the surrounding?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Cross kept quiet


    ¡°Well, I suppose something that the village worshipped or a special place¡­¡±


    The dwarf suddenly stop hammering and then looked at Ryuu,


    ¡°There¡¯s one¡­ A mountain that you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°Fuku Village [Sacred Hill], it¡¯s the place where they sealed an evil god long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Hearing that, Ryuu became elated and excited.


    The master smith suddenly emitted a tense atmosphere with his serious face,


    ¡°I tell you kid, stay away from that dangerous place.¡±


    The dwarf picked up his rhythm and the smashing sound reverberated in the forge again.


    ¡®He put up his guard¡¯


    Ryuu stared at him for a little while longer before picking up his pace, there was no more conversation flowing between the two.


    ¡°Im home!¡±


    Ryuu put down the sack at its usual place and realized that both of his parents were not around, instead there were food on the table and a piece of paper sticked below one of the wooden bowl.


    Ryuu read the paper and could recognize the delicate and neat writing of his mother.


    [We won¡¯t be at home until late night, have your dinner without us]


    He put the paper back below the wooden bowl and looked in front of him


    The cheerful presence was no longer there, there was only solitude in front of him.


    ¡®This is the first time I had my dinner alone in the house ever since then.¡¯


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.How lonely, he thought.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    There was books scattered all over the places around him, he had finished reading around half the books on the shelves.


    ¡°[Fuku Sacred Hill]¡­¡±


    Ryuu was flipping pages after pages in search for the mountain that his master mentioned earlier afternoon.


    Then, he stopped at one of the pages. On the left page was an artistic pencil sketch of a mountain, on the right page was titled [The Sacred Mountain].


    Got what he searched, Ryuu was elated and starts to read the content.


    [Fuku Sacred Hill]


    Located in the Southern of Hama Continent, it was the resting place of a certain god hosting a great demon inside. The surrounding vegetation was filled with an extraordinary amount of dark elemental plants, as well a sanctuary of light elemental plants on the peak.


    The place is filled with illusionary magic, proceed with caution.


    Gathering Difficulty: *****


    Ryuu turned to the front page and stared at the cover title.


    [Taiyou¡¯s Gathering Guide].


    ¡®He sure produce some interesting¡­ things.¡¯ Ryuu thought to himself.


    Just a little bit after Ryuu finished reading on the title, the door opened up all of the sudden.


    ¡°We¡¯re back¡­¡± A pair of exhausted voice could be heard as the door was opening.


    Ryuu look at them and their complexion, it seems they was working hard that day.


    ¡°Food!¡±


    Taiyou looked at the leftover food that Hana cooked, he hastily took a spot and starts eating while ignoring anything else. Meanwhile Hana hastily went to the sales area and start to rummage the shelves in there in search of something.


    Ryuu quickly stopped what he was doing and used a spell to make the mountain of books to go back towards their respective places and approached his father by quietly sitting down in one of the dining chair while waiting the other to finish their food


    ¡°Dad? Where did you go?¡± Ryuu curiously asked.


    ¡°The elder¡¯s house, something had happened.¡± Taiyou gave out a small and direct response not long after


    ¡°?¡±


    Hana shouted from inside the counter area,


    ¡°Ryuu! I need some help. Could you please come here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re called¡± Taiyou swayed his left hand, a gesture to force Ryuu out.


    Ryuu was quiet but he quickly moved down and then chased after his mom into the counter.


    ¡°Yes mom?¡± He stood beside the woman.


    ¡°Ryuu, please put this away for me¡­¡± She pointed at the back.


    There was a mountain of vials and plants that need to be shelved in their respected place.


    With an exhausted face, she brought a wooden box and left the counter to the dining room, catching up with Taiyou.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Ryuu was left speechless.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    With the spell Ryuu previously used to return the book, he finished cleaning up the counter relatively fast and came back to the dining room.


    The food in the dining room was finished during this time and stowed away, replaced by the single wooden box her mom had brought as they were glaring the content inside. He decided to climb up and sat on the dining table to get a clearer view of the box,


    Looking inside, there was a lot of artifacts and tools. But amongst them, the most appealing was the pack of amulets that was written with words he didn¡¯t recognize, the condition of the cloth itself was quite worn-out. Ryuu was curious and wanted to ask, but the atmosphere was tense and decided to observe from the sidelines.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡± Taiyou then raised his voice as he grabbed the pack of amulets.


    Hana was silent and looked at Ryuu before responding to Taiyou. Her peering gaze on Ryuu was one that judge whether he should be included or not.


    ¡°Take some rest while I¡¯m preparing the tools.¡±


    ¡°Cool.¡± Taiyou hid the amulet in his pockets and listlessly put his head on the dining table.


    ¡°You too Ryuu, go get some sleep¡±


    Hana smiled and then she started to rummage over the box and took out some tools and started inspecting them, immersing herself in her own world.


    ¡®How busy¡­¡¯


    At this, Ryuu was left alone. His eyes were still bright and he had no intention to go to sleep, but there was no way he would disturb the two at this point.


    Thus, he reached for the weapon, which was tied on one of the wall and quickly disappeared from the back door towards the flower field.


    His mind was in deep thought as he stepped his way around the trail, pondering over the information he had gained since the morning.


    The irregular mana movement of the mountain,


    The sacred hill that hosted a god, a dangerous place to tread in.


    The timing of the elder¡¯s meeting in which his parents were called into.


    ¡®Those amulets¡­ there were traces of light-based spell engraved on it.¡¯


    Although Mana by itself is a pure energy and can be used directly, it could also be transformed into different elements and then used as a spell.


    Mainly the four basic elements and two advance elements.


    Wind, Water, Fire, Earth. Light and Dark.


    The attribute elements are skewed to some characteristic in terms of effectiveness.


    ¡®[Light]-based spell are versed in purifications and healing¡­¡¯


    ¡®I think¡­ At this point, it¡¯s safe to say that the sacred hill is the reason why all of these happenings.¡¯


    He reached the field as he drew conclusion over the info he gained and stood below a tree.


    !!!


    Just as he about to draw his weapon from its sheathe,


    An earthquake larger than yesterday shook the flower field and caused the ground to crack, creating a rift to the trail Ryuu was using to the house. The suddenness also caused Ryuu to tumble but he managed to float himself using [Flight] spell before he fell down.


    He observed the sacred hill as he was maintaining the spell, his eyes had turned blue through [Spirit Sight]. The surrounding mana was concentrated over the sacred hill, like a brewing storm. With the storm eye was situated at the peak of it.


    As the storm grew more violent, the earthquake was also growing stronger.


    ¡®Hmm¡­ It¡¯s not a good sign.¡¯


    ¡®At this rate, the village will really be turned to crumbles.¡¯


    Ryuu frowned, his dissatisfaction was apparent but he waited for the earthquake to settle down


    But, there wasn¡¯t a sign that the earthquake was stopping and his patience reached its limit.


    He looked at his small palm, then he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh before looking back at the violent storm.


    ¡°No choice, someone had to do it.¡±


    He raised his right palm towards the faraway hill, the surrounding mana in the field had converged towards him like a small tornado.


    Ryuu started to chant a spell


    ¡°I summon thee, O¡¯ brilliant light.¡±


    As the chant finished, huge of white dust starts to leak out from Ryuu¡¯s body in a great speed, so fast that the dust had covered the surrounding ground around him had piled up until the breeze blew then away gently.


    A dull, silver flame was floating above his palm.


    It was then turned into the shape of thin javelin under Ryuu¡¯s control.


    In its spear form, Ryuu was able to grab and hurled it towards the storm.


    The speed of the spear was fast enough to cause a small shockwave and blew the surrounding area around Ryuu as it rushed towards the hill.


    As it reached the peak, the javelin was temporarily dissolved into the air, before an explosion of bright light had covered the sacred hill and the villages like a daylight.  The storm of mana was forcefully dispersed due to the single shockwave created from explosion.


    The earthquake went to a standstill, silence followed as the aftermath.


    Ryuu himself became quiet and lowered his hand and slowly descent to the ground with a paled face, as if his life force had been sucked out from his body.


    He seemed to be painfully smiling before he resigned himself to the fallen leaves and rested his whole body.


    ¡®Aa¡­ That sure wear out my body.¡¯


    Turning his head towards the sacred hill, he could no longer see the storm of mana.


    ¡®Personally, it¡¯s prudent to stay away from troublesome stuff.¡¯


    ¡®But, leaving them alone may cause danger to my family.¡¯


    ¡®I can¡¯t simply let that happen, anymore¡¯


    Ryuu was determined to go into the sacred hill.

 Chapter 7: Deity in a Shrine (Raw)

    After recovering himself through a short rest, Ryuu decided to fly towards the base of sacred hill and continued through foot to the peak.


    This was to preserve his full power when he needed them the most.


    The entrance to the sacred hill itself was clearly visible to the naked eyes, the sacred hill was filled with fog while the outside the area was without any fog, as if it was unnaturally separated.


    Ryuu raised his hand as he wanted to touch the mist, but barrier of air pressure had prevented him from doing so.


    ¡®Barrier, but I can¡¯t simply break them apart¡­¡¯ Ryuu sighed


    He turned on his spirit sight and observed the area around him before he approached in front of a tree and focus upon the bark. There was an amulet on it and was shining continuously, showing that it was in effect


    Ryuu wryly smiled as he saw the amulet, it was the same amulet he saw at his home.


    ¡®I guess that confirms their involvement¡­¡¯


    Ryuu muttered before he raised his right index finger and touched the amulet.


    The swirl of mana that was being absorbed to the amulet was suddenly dispersed and caused the amulet to lose its function and no longer shine.


    The mists contained in the sacred hill was gushing out from one of the area as a result of the barrier disappearing.


    Ryuu quickly stepped forward to the sacred hill before the disabled amulet was shining again, locking the mist once again alongside with Ryuu. Although, he didn¡¯t paid heed and hiked to the peak.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    As Ryuu delve deeper towards the peak of the hill, the atmosphere was staring to change and the mist was denser, making it hard to find direction and see through the area.


    He was already halfway inside the territory, which was forbidden to other people by ignoring the wind barrier. The vegetation at this area was diversely different from the one he could find before, perhaps due to the effect of the barrier and the hosted god.


    His feet frequently tangled onto a vine that was growing on the ground as he walked into the small trail, thus he stopped at some point to take the vines out from his feet.


    Even at the horrible treatment, Ryuu heart was delighted as he was looking at some of the plants in the area, sometimes he would stop at it excitedly.


    This time he stopped upon a pond where he could see black flowers was hovering on it.


    ¡®Oooh! [Dark Lotus]! I didn¡¯t expect I could find such a rare plant, it¡¯s also in batches¡­¡¯


    He swiped his index finger really fast, creating a wave of pure energy and cut the flower part of the lotus, leaving the stem alone and put it inside his nearly filled pouch. There was a tinge of regret felt from the boy.


    ¡®I should¡¯ve brought a bigger pouch!¡¯


    His greed was distracting him from his original purpose


    As he hiked even deeper, the alignment of the flora in the region was becoming more distinct, the dark and violet-theme plants starts to become innumerable it obstructed the visibility even more, alongside the increasing mist density.


    Soon enough, Ryuu¡¯s iris turned blue as he moved further inside. His mind was filled with ideas while evading the obstacle with great agility.


    ¡®The concentration of flora in this region¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯m starting to doubt whether it¡¯s a [God] they¡¯re sealing in¡­¡¯


    ¡®Oh¡­ I¡¯m almost at the peak.¡¯


    But as he was thinking, he could see a bright light from afar and he hasten his pace and reached the end of the darkness.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The moon radiated, granting the surrounding area with light.


    In front of Ryuu was an open space, around 200 meters in diameter, there was a temple resided in the midst of the empty space, as if the entirety of the area was concentrated towards that particular spot.


    Ominous was the feeling it exuded; the temple in front of him was completely engulfed in dark energy except for the door, making it impossible to see the decoration used on it.


    Coincidentally, it was the reason of the earthquake that he felt earlier as the temple had been absorbing a huge amount of mana that cause imbalances in its flow.


    Ryuu had grabbed his sheathe as he grew wary of the temple in front of him and approach despite the danger that may occur within.


    As he came closer, the concentration of mana was too dense for him to see, thus he decided to deactivate his [Spirit Sight].


    After he his eyes was no longer sensitive to mana, as well to elemental energy. He could barely see the appearance of the temple.


    Rather than temple, it was closer to an abandoned shrine, where the frame had shown weakness and frail enough to break if someone were to step at the stairs leading to the inside.


    With caution, Ryuu moved forward with careful steps and opened the wooden door with his left hand, while holding his right hand onto the sheath. As the door was opening, a fragrant akin to lavender could be smell alongside a strong gust of wind that made him flinched for a moment. He could sense another presence inside the shrine.


    After the gust dispersed,


    The scenery in front astounded Ryuu to the point he released the grip of his right hand as he locked his sight upon a presence.


    There was a girl around his age; she was locking her feet with both of her hand.


    A complexion was so fine, a skin without blemish, a silky silver hair long enough to touch the floor.


    She had an appearance that was blessed by the heaven.


    After dazed for a while, Ryuu regained his composure and removed his sandals and made his entrance without permission and stood in front of her, which was only a meter away from his touch.


    Up closer, he could sense the guard the person in front of him; a word uttered from her.


    ¡°Go away¡±


    Ryuu looked at the hostile woman for a second, while thinking


    ¡®A strong killing intent¡­ Is she an abandoned [Deity]?¡¯


    ¡°Leave, if you don¡¯t want to be killed¡± A simple word uttered from the girl


    Ryuu ignored her and instead spoke calmly,


    ¡°The earthquake, was it because of your fault?¡±


    She raised her head; her violet iris was peering at Ryuu.


    ¡°If I said no, would you believe me?¡± A soft voice, to the point it would be inaudible if it weren¡¯t for the complete silence around.


    Ryuu was rendered speechless by her word, it was impossible to agree with someone through a single word.


    ¡°As I thought, humans are all the same¡­¡± Her eyes was filled with certain fierceness, although her expression was still calm and stoic.


    It was the gaze of hatred,


    ¡®This girl¡­ She decided to distrust other people¡¯ He looked at her with a serious mien, her expression at the moment evoked nostalgia in his heart.


    Somehow, he wanted to believe in her.


    The feeling overflowed throughout his mind, he smiled wryly at her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe in you¡­¡±


    Ryuu looked at her, his eyes was filled with determination. It was to show that he was serious at his word


    ¡­


    ¡®This girl, had lost hope in the world too, like I was before¡¯


    The girl stopped for a moment, speechless. Then she stood up, her height was the same as the Ryuu.


    She was looking downcasted, as her hand gripped so hard as if the anger inside of her was about to explode.


    Opening her mouth, the same soft voice was muttered but now in fury


    ¡°A lie¡±


    ¡°Go Away!¡±


    ¡®¡­ She completely ignored me¡¯


    As Ryuu heard the word, he became guarded and quickly dashed outside the shrine.


    His eyes quickly turned bluish and he once more became sensitive towards the flow of mana. The girl was casually standing in front of the door while looking at him, she raised her right hand and then a golden spark starts to reverberate above her.


    Soon, the reverberation exploded. From it was a weapon, the length of the weapon was at least around two meters and the thickness was at least half a meter.


    The weapon was completely jet-black, like a black mirror. While it was covered with a white aura on its surface.


    Ryuu was astonished and sweated slightly at the sight of the weapon in front of him


    ¡®No way¡­ [Divine Weapon]¡¯


    ¡®A [Greatsword]¡­ Moreover, of the tabooed [Light] and [Dark] elements.¡¯


    Ryuu unsheathed his wakizashi and then he shouted towards the girl.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight with you, can we solve this matter through other means?¡±


    ¡°Disappear!¡± She shouted towards him, she held a sword that was thrice her size and swiftly charged towards her enemy.


    The wooden floor was damaged by her step as it created a hole from her place, the burst of speed made her reached Ryuu in a second.


    Her stance had already lowered and she slashed the huge towards him with a great speed.


    ¡®Shit! Why all the sword user I met in this world are so quick¡¯


    Ryuu retorted as he jumped backwards to avoid the sword¡¯s trajectory as the image of his mother appeared.


    Although, Ryuu had successfully dodged the great sword, a sudden cracking sound could be heard and caused the surrounding area around her to be filled with yellow thunder. Some of these thunders grazed Ryuu mercilessly, burning the clothing he wore.


    ¡®Gah! It hurts!¡¯


    He mocked himself over the painful, burning feeling.


    The jump had created distance between the two and Ryuu¡¯s body had been fried by the thunder, as there were light bruises everywhere. He became depressed and regretted his decision to come for a moment.


    ¡®Fighting a [Deity] like this¡­ Aaah, I want to leave already¡¯


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    But, Ryuu¡¯s dismissed his thought and stood solidly against the girl while focusing to the battle.


    ¡°[Hoshino¡¯s Sword Art: Flame Wave]¡±


    The wakizashi was brimming in flame essence.


    He made a slash to the air, a red wave-like attack that flung towards the berserk girl. As the wave came approaching her, yellow spark had been emitted from her body and collided with the wave before it touched her and disappeared.


    Ryuu didn¡¯t pay heed and starts to swing his sword at a fast speed; a shower of red wave was charging towards the girl. However, the red waves were completely decimated by the spark; it was shown the power difference was quite large.


    She didn¡¯t just stand idly and rushed forward while holding her huge sword, and trying to get a direct hit.


    Ryuu would escape as she got into range by jumping backwards and sideways while swinging his sword at all opportunities, creating waves of attack that was impossible to evade.


    All of this was possible because a great sword had some delay, which gave time for Ryuu to launch his counters.


    Even so, the relaxed expression and bright smile he wore as if he was playing with the girl whose, although her attacks were still sharp and skillful, anger had been shown from her tighter grip and explosive killing intent as she tried to chase the mouse that had disturbed her sleep.


    The ground was filled with holes as the battle progressing against the girl.


    She decided to stop moving and coldly look at him while fending the last wave of attack with her Greatsword.


    Ryuu noticed the change of action and decided to observe while keeping a safe distance from her.


    This time, she threw the heavy blades up above and caused it to disintegrate and reconstructed a twin great blade, this time the sword was golden but a dark layer had caused the golden color to dull. On the blade was a carving of ancient inscription and its size was twice as huge


    She threw the heavy blades up above and it a spark was formed and ate those swords and reconstructed a twin blade, this time the blade was golden however a dark wave had encircled it. The blade carving was an ancient inscription and it was a bit smaller than the previous one.


    ¡®Annoying¡¯


    Then, she quietly muttered a word inaudible to Ryuu,


    Her body had suddenly clad in dark aura and she disappeared from the area.


    Rather than disappeared, more like she had melded with the shadow.


    Ryuu was surprised at first but he focused his eyes and look for the change in flow of mana. He could sense the mana concentration around her as she was absorbing the mana for her skill, thus determining her location.


    However, there was no way for him to see the presence of the girl as she was engulfed in darkness.


    He decided to raise his guard by solidifying his stance and intensifying the amount mana into his blade, as it was getting brighter in flame essence.


    The girl starts to charge; there was no sound of her steps, making it harder to determine her speed and location.


    He could only refer to his instinct and sixth sense,


    ¡®There!¡¯


    He directly reacted by moving his body 180o and made a slash his small sword.


    Suddenly, the girl appeared from the darkness and had slashed with both of her blade towards Ryuu aggressively.


    ¡°[Release, Flame Wave]¡±


    The sword, his weapon was engulfed in red flame and was sprayed into a firestorm directly towards her. The flame attacking range had engulfed all of her body but the dark element clad her body had fend off the flame and there didn¡¯t seem to have any effect in reducing her speed as her twin swords launched directly towards the sword and Ryuu.


    Loud collision between the weapons had caused Ryuu¡¯s wakizashi to be destroyed into two easily due to the difference in sheer force and the Greatsword sharp edge had impacted Ryuu directly and blew him away from the area, towards the dense forest and broke down few trees while smoke was formed by the dust.


    After the cloud of dust had fallen down, the ground area was left with nothing but the girl who had wield weapons which was larger than her size on both hands.


    ¡®As expected, fighting a [Deity] is quite a tall task.¡¯


    ¡®Regardless, she was at the peak of that level. Perhaps she was a famous [Deity]¡¯


    ¡®Now¡­ I¡¯m just making excuses for the lack of my ability.¡¯


    Ryuu chuckled and then he coughed blood as he leaned on the tree that had been broken by the impact earlier. His internal organ had been damaged and his bone cracked, but none of them were serious.


    ¡°Foolish human.¡±


    She approached towards Ryuu and stood in front of him, this time she had looked at the man with an expressionless gaze. This time, there was no longer killing intent and pressure emitted from her.


    He looked at her face, which was now clearly seen without the aura that had engulfed her, as well with the help of the moon. He was actually quite surprised by the girl in front of him and he sighed in relief.


    ¡°You are even prettier now. I¡¯m stumped.¡±


    Being six years old, Ryuu made honest comment about the girl jokingly.


    One of the sword on her hand suddenly slashed just hairbreadth away from his flesh, his face paled.


    ¡°Wait2! I give up.¡±


    He agitatedly waved both of his hand, while pleading to have his life spared.


    In her heart, she knew that although the person was not able to injure, lest to kill her. He would be able to escape easily.


    She then uttered up a question,


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you flee? While you had the chance to do so?¡±


    Ryuu chuckled and then answered it firmly.


    ¡°Because I know someone similar to you long time ago¡±


    ¡°So I was thinking it¡¯ll be nice to save you from becoming like him.¡±


    ¡®From loneliness, from betrayal¡¯


    His heart was thinking of those words.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a nuisance, fighting a bug who didn¡¯t try its best.¡±


    She released her twin sword and it was disintegrated into thin air and her presence was no longer hostile, it was the proof that she spared him from death.


    Sighing in relief, Ryuu closed his eyes and focused the surrounding mana to hasten his recovery while leaving the bare minimum of focus to the surrounding.


    Left alone, the girl was dumbfounded; the person in front of him had flirted with her just few seconds ago, but the next time he treated her like the air.


    Although, there was no dissatisfaction seen from her face.


    Somehow, her eyes started to waver and became glassy, but it was hardly visible thanks to her violet eyes and her cold demeanor.


    An indescribable attraction caused her hand to touch the boy¡¯s hair as he was recuperating.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ Just this once.¡± She softly opens her mouth.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Meanwhile, as the two of them had been conversing on the side. The dark energy nearby the shrine was getting denser, causing the shrine¡¯s frail foundation to crack even more. The dark energy engulfing the temple was trying to release itself to the surrounding land, causing the shrine to creak and wobble.


    Continuous violent tremor was occurring due to this dark energy and the shrine was like glue that held them in place.


    After few shocks, the creaking shrine was no longer able to hold its weight and wrecked into ruins. Black fog was starting to seep out from the holes of the wreck and shrouded the whole sacred hill with darkness, making it impossible to see the hill from outside.


    After the girl realized of the happenings,


    Her wavering eyes and the fragility she emitted earlier had disappeared as she dashed to the broken shrine.


    In front of the site, she could see the origin of the black fog was coming from the center of the shrine and somehow was materializing into an entity. Raising her hand, she summoned her great blade from the thin air and made a striking posture.


    As she focused her mind onto her weapon, the sword was swirling in light energy and brimming so brightly trying to fight off the darkness clouding the entire place.


    The swirl then focused into the tip and creating a magic circle with <ëŠ>of the great blade and without hesitation she pointed the circle towards the temple.


    A flash of lightning spark was summoned from the magic circle and was chasing towards source of black fog, causing an explosion on contact and a blazing fire remaining on the ground.


    A long, loud screech reverberating around as the lightning pierced the black mass apart. Although, it didn¡¯t seem to disappear and in retaliation it was absorbing the black fog at a faster rate, causing some of the black fog covering the hill to disperse and let more light to seep through.


    The girl didn¡¯t seem to give up and repeated her attacks, causing more lightning to strike the mass.


    However, her attacks didn¡¯t seem to cause real damage while its materialization was getting more solid and less ethereal.


    It was forming into a shape of a human, only its upper body was visible and it didn¡¯t seem to have a lower body. Although, all of the body were shrouded with a thick veil of dark energy with the exception of the wicked face.


    The appearance of the being made the surrounding grass and trees decaying as their life force was being absorbed. Its hollow eyes were fixed on the person that had attempted to injure it, while summoning multiple skulls cloaked with the same dark energy.


    It pointed one the right finger onto the small girl, all the skulls under the command launched itself while clacking its teeth in delight.


    Readying her great sword, she gripped her greatsword tightly with both of her hand as she waited for the skull to come at her striking range.


    She made a wide swing with her weapon, slicing the nearest skull into halves.


    At the same time, yellow sparks were discharged from her body that pierced through the other skulls.


    All of the skulls that were hit by the sparks exploded without any resistance and disappeared.


    With that exchange, the girl was already in battle with the unknown being that had come out from the shrine.

 Chapter 8: His True Strength (Raw)

    As the battle was proceeding between the girl and the materialized being, on the sideline was the boy who was lying on with a tree as his support.


    Ryuu was observing the battle from afar; his prying eyes were directed to the ¡®something¡¯ that was created from the lump of dark mass earlier.


    ¡°I see, they contained the dark energy in a place and it caused all of these happenings.¡±


    He was already returning to consciousness when the black fog had been released, his face frowned as he was determining at the severity of the situation at that moment.


    ¡°Damn it, why it has to be a troublesome [Wraith]¡­¡±


    His mouth was curling in dissatisfaction and switched his sight towards the young girl who was battling the skull.


    She was bravely contending her enemy as she wield her blade to slice the incoming attacks while using lightning spell to damage it and occasionally used her greatsword to attack her foe directly.


    At a glance, the difference in ability could be seen that the girl had the upper hand.


    She was skillfully deflecting the incoming attacks of the [Wraith], which comprised of the standard long-range attack utilizing the summoned skulls. While the occasional horrifying screech could be heard implied the attack was actually had effect onto the enemy it pierced the layer of dark energy directly to the core.


    However, the innumerable black fog that was blanketing the area was starting to recover the damaged part as soon it was damaged.


    It also served as a seemingly infinite fuel for the wraith to launch her magic attacks.


    While the girl was limited with her own mana capacity.


    ¡®If this goes to a prolonged battle¡­¡¯


    ¡®She will definitely die¡±


    Ryuu quickly realized this fact and came to a conclusion.


    He was no longer able to wield his broken weapon, thus he left it behind and stood up. Using a [Reinforce] Spell, he then quickly joined himself into the battle and stood by the young girl.


    ¡°Hey! Do you have any killing move?!¡±


    As he was beside her, he loudly voiced his speech towards the girl


    With a surprise, she turned her head in shock at the sudden appearances of the boy. However, it took her a moment before she treated the man as her allies and regained her composure.


    With a decisive answer, she nodded in confirmation and in a flash disappeared as one of the skulls was in trajectory. Ryuu also evaded the attack at the same time as the girl. The skull hit the ground and exploded, causing a small hole in the already uneven ground.


    The two was separated and circled the enemy from two sides, at this time.


    ¡°Alright! Conserve your move while I do something about the dark energy.¡±


    With a roaring sound unlike a young child could muster, Ryuu was able to communicate with the girl.


    The girl understood his direction and quickly zoned out from the [Wraith] range, leaving the boy alone to fight with it.


    Perhaps, it was because she believed in the boy¡¯s capability that she decided to follow him.


    Ryuu confirmed her cooperation and quickly smiled,


    With no hesitation, He released tens of ice spears from his back using [Icicle] spell and launched it towards the enemy. All of them made direct contact but was destroyed as it unable to pierce through the dark cloak.


    The spell was like tickling rather than damaging,


    However it successfully changed its attention towards Ryuu and raised its pale hand and released a dark beam.


    ¡®A high class [Wraith] is still a [Wraith], a being with no intelligence¡­¡¯


    Ryuu smirked towards the enemy and moved sideways to avoid the incoming beam.


    Then he readied his [Icicle] spell and repeated the move few more times to ensure that it completely forgotten about the girl.


    A mad scream could be heard from the enemy and it released numerous skulls that charged towards the man. Ryuu quickly controlled his numerous ice spears to counter the skulls from coming through him.


    Afterwards, Ryuu looked at the girl and realized that the mana was swirling around her in a faster rate as she was already in focus on her task.


    Ryuu closed his eyes for a moment and took a single long breath while the wraith was preparing for another barrage,


    His mind was quickly dissolved and quickly turned into void, he had attuned himself to fully immerse in the battle.


    ¡°Play is over, [Wraith]¡±


    His gaze was fixed onto the enemy,


    Opening his right palm, he is started to mutter in a small words.


    ¡°Ye¡¯ shone upon the darkest of nights¡±


    A small grey fire was formed above his palm; it quickly rotated around his body.


    The [Wraith] opened his hand and released dark energy, this time it was much bigger than the previous attacks. Although, Ryuu was able to avoid it easily and speedily moved towards the back of his enemy.


    ¡°Cast me not away in thy gentle presence¡±


    Ryuu chanted, causing another grey flame to rotate around his body.


    ¡°Thy will make known to me the path of life¡±


    The next flame rotated around him and causing the wraith to waver as it looked upon the dull flame.


    ¡°I summon thee, O¡¯ brilliant light¡±


    Another flame rotated around Ryuu¡¯s body, his face paled as he was holding the spell and little sweat was forming on his face.


    He avoided another attack from the wraith and then pointed his finger towards it, before softly muttering the name of his spell.


    ¡®[Origin Spell: Light]¡¯


    The four flames suddenly rose up to the sky, before dropping itself in four different directions on the wraith. A chain of lights was constructed, connecting the flames to each other in a circular fashion.


    After the chain was fully connected, the small grey flames turned into four stakes and driven itself to the ground, causing a pillar of light rose inside. The outside black fog was severed, making it impossible to utilize the energy from inside.


    A loud scream could be heard from the wraith as the white light caused it to weaken, then it fell down to the ground in painful writhing. The black fog was no longer seen inside the brilliance of the light.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Go!¡± Ryuu exclaimed.


    The girl, who was standing by outside the strike zone of the wraith, opened her eyes at the cue of the boy. Her greatsword was driven to the ground behind her.


    She took out a yellow amulet, similar to which Hana used, and with two fingers she held it closely on her chest.


    As she concentrated, the yellow amulet started to brim in bluish color and there were crackles of lightning all over the amulet.


    ¡°Fly, Mirror of Lightning¡±


    She swiped the amulet hardly and it flew towards the sky, directly above the pillar of light that Ryuu created with his spell.


    A huge magic circle with <ëŠ> symbol was forming above the amulet and then forming a black clouds in circular fashion. Ryuu moved away from the area as the range of the magic spell was large enough to hit him at his original spot. He then looked at the sky at a safe range, he was sweating profusely from the after-effect of his intervention.


    The cloud was getting denser, and numerous blue lightning was roaring on the particular area and let out crackles every so often. Then, a single lightning fell down, it was huge enough to cover the whole magic circle, towards the weakened wraith.


    A flash of light filled the peak of [Sacred Hill] and exploded, the soundwave from the lightning boom had caused the prevailing wind to forcefully disperse the black fog away, the protective barrier that was used in protecting the sacred hill shattered.


    It was spell of destruction.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The decayed grassfield was turned into a burning ashes at the aftermath of the huge spell.


    It only took a split second for all of the massive destruction.


    Ryuu had enveloped himself in numerous layers of mana barriers into safety.


    It didn¡¯t take him long before he witness the whole wasteland in front of him.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    He was astonished,


    In front of him was a glazing black ball was floating in the midst of the area, it was enveloped with a dense dark energy.


    The spell that Ryuu created was still in full effect, rendering it from movement and also recovery.


    However, Ryuu¡¯s heart grew weary.


    He thought it was supposed to be over, but it wasn¡¯t.


    Ryuu made a gesture with his finger, causing the pillar of light to illuminate even brighter, to the point the black crystal couldn¡¯t be seen from outside the pillar.


    Confirming the strengthening of his sealing spell, he turned his vision towards a certain girl that was lying flat on the ground.


    Dashing frantically, he approached the girl and starts to speak anxiously.


    ¡°Hey! Are you fine?¡±


    There was no response as body lied lifelessly.


    He could see her breathing was ragged and also her face was getting whiter,


    As if her soul was sucked out from her.


    ¡®Is she under [Mana Poisoning]? though her physique is still fine.¡¯


    He then looked over at the greatblade that was lying nearby,


    There was numerous cracking over the black-colored blade.


    A [Divine Weapon] was a weapon manifested from her soul.


    Damage towards the divine weapon means damage to her soul.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.¡®Her [Divine Weapon] is breaking¡­¡¯


    ¡®!!!¡¯


    Ryuu quickly utilized his [Spirit Sight], this time the color was so intense that the usual light blue had turned into a deep-sea color. The normally pleasant green colored stream of mana was brightly shining to the point it was a nuisance.


    At the same time, he could see other supernatural phenomenon that was occurring in the area.


    The leylines* inside the ground.


    The four grey flames that had a white line connected to him,


    Also, a thick black line was connected from the girl towards the glistening black crystal.


    He deactivated his sight; he had answers of the situation.


    ¡®I see¡­ The [Wraith] actually possessed a part of her soul.¡®


    It caused their death and life to be connected like a thread


    ¡®Reckless!¡¯


    ¡®There¡¯s no way a severe the connection like that¡¯


    His irritation grew more intense at the weakened girl.


    Somehow, he couldn¡¯t let himself to lead this girl to her doom.


    Although he knew that she was nothing more than a stranger.


    In all hopelessness, he was trying to search for something


    ¡®Should I rely on that?¡¯


    Suddenly, his mind had thought of something.


    He knew that it might bring him an opportunity.


    ¡°NO!¡± Ryuu shook his head quickly and dispersed the idea.


    The girl suddenly opened his eyes, her weakened soul made it hard for her to maintain grasp of her own body. Her facial expression was still cold and stoic.


    Ryuu was slightly relieved from her returning consciousness, but it was far from delighted. He was still supporting her head on his left arm, tightly grabbing her hand on the other hand


    ¡°Do you know what are you doing?¡±


    Ryuu questioned her softly while he tried his best to maintain his gentleness to her.


    The girl gave out a silent treatment, but her head was nodding weakly.


    He wavered, the girl was actually understood what is going to happen.


    He couldn¡¯t help himself but to let an outburst of anger towards her, his expression was painful to see at that moment.


    ¡°Then why!¡±


    No response¡­


    Ryuu was waiting for her answer¡­


    ¡°I want to break this curse¡­¡±


    Instead, tear flowed from her eyes like a small stream.


    She mustered all of her remaining will to open her mouth.


    ¡°I just wanted to be friends with them¡­¡±


    ¡°But they branded me a monster¡±


    ¡°A calamity demon, the cursed existence¡±


    ¡°Even though¡­.¡±


    ¡°I never wanted this!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t hold herself anymore, the tears kept on flowing non-stop. A floodgate had been broken through her eyes.


    Weeping and weeping, her immoveable body could only let the tears flowing.


    Ryuu was silent and looked at her,


    His entire mind was shaken by the words, as it carried weight on it.


    At the moment, he could only see a broken girl.


    As well her honest self that she had been holding forever.


    Then, he released her from his side and brings her to lie down on the ground, where the grass was thick and soft.


    If one were to look at his expression, it was nothing more than a face filled with determination.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After he had brought her, he slowly brought himself towards the area where the black crystal was located,


    It was still being trapped while trying it¡¯s best to materialize itself but it had no more black fog remaining inside the pillar of light. Ryuu approached closer and then swiped his right hand, causing the stake disappeared into the thin air.


    The spell disappeared, granting the crystal its freedom and without hesitation it absorbed the remaining fog as it merged with the core.


    Ryuu was quiet as he witness from a close distance,


    He didn¡¯t seem to mind at the actions and waited for it to finish.


    More like he was delighted as a smile pasted from his face.


    At the same moment, his mind was still reeling from the after glow of the girl.


    He grasped his palm as his face was smiling wryly.


    As he remembered the scent and temperature of the girl he was holding.


    The coolness of her skin as well the smell of the fallen leaves, perhaps due to the years living in the area.


    ¡°She is like the autumn¡±


    Ryuu glanced back at girl who was still letting out her tears.


    ¡°Well¡­ Release all your pain¡±


    He scratched his nose and focused himself back towards the black crystal,


    The crystal had completely absorbed the last of the black fog, but wasn¡¯t able to materialized as a complete [Wraith] any longer as the last of the black fog wasn¡¯t enough to fuel it. There was only the wicked face and the black cloak remaining.


    He looked the incomplete transformation and smiled,


    ¡°Thanks to you, I had to break my own conviction¡±


    He went into silence; his smile was overwritten with a frown.


    ¡°You got to pay for causing trouble, for my family and that girl¡±


    ¡®[Heroic Transformation]¡¯


    A swirl of white energy was swirling out from the feet of his body towards the sky.


    Ryuu¡¯s eyes was light blue, he had activated his spirit sight, while his body was enshrouded in the swirl of energy.


    At a glance, illusionary white cloak was forming from the back of his body. It was akin to a knight cape.


    His right hand clenched, the aura was congealed and starting to materialize into a weapon.


    A white javelin, around the height of his shoulder, was formed as he was approaching the remnants of where the shrine was constructed.


    The black fog suddenly wobbling wildly, as if it was scared at the presence of the javelin, but they couldn¡¯t escape the restraint of the black crystal.


    Ryuu made a casual swing in the thin air where nothing was there,


    But a black line that was connecting the girl and the crystal was severed.


    It was the thread of connection between the spirit and the girl, as it was no longer.


    The [Wraith] made a huge wail as it had no more connection between itself and its host, it was enraged by the fact and raised it¡¯s last attempt by charging towards the boy with its semi-ethereal body.


    Ryuu was quiet; his demeanor was cold as he looked at the wraith.


    He released his javelin and summoned a dull silver flame, he transformed it into a silver chains that chased after the [Wraith] like a snake.


    With no effort, it locked the [Wraith] on its head while the other end was on Ryuu¡¯s palm. He slowly walked towards the enemy; while the chain was automatically readjust its size to ensure it was tight.


    As he was approaching the enemy, he softly made a whisper where only he and the [Wraith] was close enough to hear.


    ¡°[Wraith] is stupid, they have no intelligence¡­¡±


    Then he was in front, continued his whisper.


    With a colder voice he uttered his intention,


    ¡°But, I¡¯m sure they have emotions within them.¡±


    A silver flame had suddenly burning on the [Wraith]¡¯s body,


    Loud screech could be heard from it, as it was struggling over the burning flame. The dark energy was slowly dissipating from the body, as it was erased from existence from the purification.


    At the time when the [Wraith] was almost extinguished,


    Ryuu coldly whispered to the wicked face,


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s nice to escape by death?¡±


    All of the sudden, the ground was swirling in dark energy, identical to the black energy that was cloaking the [Wraith].


    On his left palm, a dark flame was hovering.


    It was quickly transformed into a stake and pierced the head of the wicked face


    The black stake absorbed surrounding dark energy, forcefully replenishing the lost energy by the burning white flame. Making the [Wraith] unable to die from the loss of its fuel.


    Realizing this, the [Wraith] made a loud scream of pain and anger, it was the loudest amongst the screams that it had ever created before.


    ¡°Quiet¡±


    After he said the word, the whole world had turned black for a moment; the [Wraith] then lost its ability to speak.


    Ryuu looked at it before he whispered,


    ¡°Remember this pain, in your next life.¡±


    ¡®If there¡¯s any more left within you, that is¡¯


    As He released the chain on his palm, the end of it was transformed into a stake and driven towards the ground.


    With that, Ryuu left it in pain until his spell loses its effect.

 Chapter 9: Epilouge (Raw)

    I was sitting down on the wasteland on the peak of [Sacred Hill], the night had already transforming into dusk.


    Although the sun was still yet to be seen


    On my lap was a young girl,


    She was sleeping like a log for few hours


    Her complexion was smooth as silk; her long, dull silver hair that touched her shoulder was still long and unaffected.


    Her face was brighter as she was saved from the death¡¯s grip.


    Though, her eye bag was swollen due to the long cry she had earlier.


    My body was crying in pain and exhaustion,


    Although I wasn¡¯t able to do anything about it and only let it died slowly.


    Mainly, because witnessing a girl sleeping on the ground make ones heart rather guilty. At the very least, in this desolate hill.


    A short flashback over what had been happening the night earlier flashed over my brain,


    Using [Origin Spell]


    Releasing [Heroic Transformation]


    Over a monster like [Wraith]


    ¡°Haa..¡±


    I let out a sigh from all the frustrated I had been welling up.


    Just what was I thinking, letting loose of my power like this!


    I cringed over the events as I regret.


    A rustle,


    I could feel movement on my lap.


    Reflexively, I looked down towards the girl that was sleeping nicely.


    This time, her eyes were wide-awake.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I unintentionally let out a shock as my body jolted up and kneed the girl right on her head, before I fell down myself.


    ¡®Quick!¡¯


    My heart sounded just like that at that point of time.


    I hastily bend myself in front of her.


    My body quickly reacted to this command and let out a voice.


    ¡°SORRY!¡±


    Perhaps because she was shocked from the sudden attack,


    It took her quite a while before she raised herself from the ground.


    My heart was filled with guilt as I watched that happening,


    That is until I took a glance over her face. It was filled with dirt on her cheek, as well the few grasses that were cut from its root, Adding to the poker face


    Her pretty face was completely ruined!


    The urge to laugh was welling up, but I suppressed them nicely as I clenched my teeth tightly. However, it didn¡¯t last long because she was approaching me, in my defenseless position.


    Her gaze was locked onto mine; she was looking at me with her cold face.


    But somehow, the feeling emitted from the first time we met was completely different from the gaze she had right now.


    There was no hostility from her this time.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.I was getting nervous, as her face was getting closer.


    However, a part of me was saying if I move away now, I am not a man!


    Thus I kept her probing for a little while longer.


    it was then I could hear her soft voice,


    ¡°Thank you for saving me¡±


    For a moment, I couldn¡¯t react with her.


    But I managed to nod in the end.


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡±


    A sudden force had pushed me down,


    ¡±Wa-wait!¡±


    The girl in front of me pushed her head and buried herself onto him.


    ¡­


    I actually knocked my own head onto a small stone,


    It was lucky that the stone didn¡¯t have any sharp edge.


    Somehow, I could feel something warm from my clothes.


    With a sigh, I let her stayed there for a little while longer.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    #Optional


    After she let go of me,


    The day was already in the morning.


    I looked back at the sight behind me; it was filled with nothing but wasteland and ashes of an abandoned shrine.


    I wryly smiled as I deeply apologized for causing it to happen.


    A girl stood beside me,


    Her tight-fit one piece in black color was a little bit ripped on the bottom part.


    (It was actually on a dangerous level of being exposed,


    I might spell my own destruction if I commented about it, though)


    It was decided that she would come with me towards the village,


    Then, just before we walked away. I had realized something as I faced towards the girl.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    I asked her in curiosity.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of your name before¡­¡±


    She became quiet for a moment, but she whispered


    ¡°¡­ Arc Elis¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I call you Elis then?¡±


    She nodded, although her expression was cold, the excitement contained from her nodding was unavoidable.


    With a smile, i tried to call her full name on the sky.


    Arc Elis¡­


    Yeah, that¡¯s a good name.


    #Optional

 To-do list

Rephrasing:


    Ch 2-9


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    Side Story 1