《Warrior God》


 Chapter 1. New acquaintance

    *swish*


    Kenta was escaping from the bandits in hope that he could hide between trees, stones and rivers.


    He was running through the Miraculous forest, located on the west in the Kingdom of Balux. This kingdom is called sometimes Eastern Kingdom due to its location on the Maderian continent.


    Kenta jumped over a creek and looked away. He saw two figures of adult men, wearing light armor and having swords on their right hips.  ?Where¡¯s the third??, asked Kenta. Originally there were three pursuers.  ¡°I hope he got lost in a thicket¡±, wishfully thought Kenta just to ease up himself.


    In the beginning he decided to run through the forest believing that his small height could allow him to hide there. But the bandits appeared to be quite the experts and never lost the sight of him. So the only thing left for him is just to try to run away. ¡°I am starting to get out of breath¡± said Kenta and breathed out.


    In his village he was the most energetic boy among his peers and had the biggest stamina. However in the end he had no chances to escape from magically enchanted adults.


    Kenta did not know but bandits, were able to pursuit him with ease due to their experience as former soldiers. So they had hard-trained, physically and magically enchanted bodies and even couple of magical elixirs.


    Why did soldiers become bandits? They were the deserters, who run away from the battle with demons.


    Their squad consisted of 50 armed soldiers and three intermediate level magicians. Hired to escort a noble to another city, on the way, they were attacked by 150 demons, mixed with a couple of humanoid types, who in the modern kingdom¡¯s documents considered equal to 20 ¨C 30 soldiers alone or 1 high level magician.  Eventually they would have died there due to significant differences in forces between their squad and demons.


    A lot of their comrades died immediately due to sudden attack and a lot of scattered. They decided to abandon the noble, whom they supposed to escort and hid in the forest.  Those who left to protect the noble fought to the last breath in that already lost battle. But it happened to be that those demons were actually running away from another soldier squad.


    There were several incidents with demons, attacking villages and the king decided to send his elite troops to annihilate demons. Originally there were 500 demons, who were scattered among several villages. As elite troops started to exterminate them, the ones who were able to escape, formed this group of 150 demons. But elite soldiers were already chasing them.


    The demons happened to run into that noble¡¯s escort and attacked it. But as soon as the elite forces caught them, the demons were all killed. The survived noble told whole the story and the soldiers that escaped were proclaimed deserters and were ordered to be killed on sight.


    Those deserters who did not know about it came to towns and were killed. Other soldiers started to hide in the woods and live criminal¡¯s life, hiding away from their eventual death.


    So now they were chasing a boy, who had stolen their money and provision. At that time Kenta knew nothing about them and thought that they were average criminals, who could be easily fooled.


    Now Kenta was running for his life and did not have any ideas in his mind now. ¡°What should I do, what should I do¡­¡± Kenta was panicking.


    Suddenly, while running, Kenta saw a road and a man, who¡¯s walking on it. ¡°I can use him!¡± the idea appeared in his brain, and Kenta started to run towards the man.


    The man had short black hair and was wearing a white coat, with black and gold patterns. He also had white pants and black shoes. Additionally he had a black scabbard on his right hip, with a sword¡¯s hilt, protruding from it. On the left he had a small black pouch.


    When Kenta came out from the trees to the road, he started to run to the man and shout


    - Help! Help!


    The man in white coat, stopped and looked at the boy, who¡¯s running towards him. Suddenly from the sky, a guy in the armor landed on the boy and the boy fell on the road.


    - Caught you!


    Then from the forest another two similarly looking men appeared.


    - Good work, Roud. You are proficient in running on tree branches as always.


    Said the guy on the right. ¡°So that is why I did not see the third one¡±, thought Kenta, ¡°These bandits are definitely the professionals¡±. The [Running on branches] is a term for a military technique which allows a person to jump from one branch to another in order to increase his movement speed across the trees or run away from the strong enemy.  So no matter how Kenta tried he could not escape from the pursuers.


    That bandit on the right looked at the man in white coat and said:


    - What are you looking at? Go away.


    Another one, who stood on the left, interrupted him.


    - Wait, Gerald. Look at his clothes. He¡¯s definitely a noble. It¡¯s strange that he¡¯s without an escort but maybe we just got lucky. After all this area is rather calm and even do not have wild animals lurking around, much less demons.


    - Fair enough. Hey you! - Said the guy on the right with the name Gerald. - Give up your money and the sword. Then you may go. We can even escort you.


    All three men started to laugh.


    While the bandit was sitting on him, Kenta was able to lift his head up. He looked at the man in white coat and carefully started to inspect him. ¡°He indeed looks like a noble¡±, thought Kenta. From the looks, the man in white coat could not be from the commoners.


    The man calmly observed all the party. Assuming that doing nothing means agreement, Gerald started to move closer to the man. Suddenly Gerald fell on the ground.


    Everybody froze.


    - What¡¯s that?


    Asked the man, who was sitting on Kenta. He tied Kenta¡¯s hands and got up.


    - No idea, Roud. I only saw that man put his hand on the hilt of his sword and then returned it back. I doubt the boy was able to see that move because it was fast. Maybe it¡¯s some kind of sword technique?


    - Who knows? But I recall the 11th Sword Saint was able to something similar ¨C he was just standing as he¡¯s doing nothing but all demons around were falling dead. But he¡¯s Sword Saint and this man is definitely not one of them, as we met them all¡­ Anyway the things turned ugly.


    The Sword Saint was a title, which could be granted to a soldier with supreme sword skills by the king. Kingdom had 12 Sword Saints.


    Kenta was impressed too. He was not able to see man¡¯s hand moving at all. For him it was like Gerald suddenly fell and that was all. ¡°Wow wow¡­He dealt with him so fast!!¡± thought Kenta. At first he thought that the man is done for, after all nobles do not have high sword skills and rely on the guards, but after this event, his hope to escape came back. ¡°All the left is to deal with others and I am free. Do it! C¡¯mon!¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.- Terlay, I¡¯ll attack him and you use THAT. We have no other choice.


    Said Roud, took out a sword and ran to the man.


    That time white coated man looked rather puzzled or maybe confused. Maybe he thought that they would not dare to attack him after what he had just done, but anyway he made a step back. Roud thought that this person lost composure and sped up.


    *clink*


    He heard the sound of glass breaking and then felt that his sword became lighter. ¡°No ¡­ way¡±, he thought. For him, the man in white coat did nothing but something definitely happened!


    Then Roud lost his conscious.


    Kenta saw at the scene with awe. When Roud almost reached the man, Roud¡¯s sword suddenly broke into pieces and he fell as a sandbag on the ground. ¡°My god! He¡¯s a monster!¡±, Kenta¡¯s thoughts were like this. The path to his escape now clear because that the man in white coat will deal with the last bandit for sure.


    However he suddenly felt cold and his body started to tremble. He turned his head back to Terlay. Terlay drank some potion and after a moment his body started to cover with red aura. His eyes turned black and smoke started to come out of his mouth. ¡°Berserk¡­¡±, Kenta knew what potion drank Terlay just now. It was a rather famous potion among soldiers and criminals. [Berserk] was a kind of potion, which allows person to break his limits with a cost of the high fatigue, to the point when the body was unable to move for a couple of hours. This potion was usually used when a soldier, surrounded by multiple enemies, wanted to break through. During potion¡¯s effect, body was unable to feel any pain, fatigue and person begins to move faster, jump higher and is able to break enchanted armor and weapons with his bare hands. Fight against such person was equal to fight against multiple demons or 10 ¨C 15 soldiers. This was quite an expensive potion and rather difficult to acquire.


    *flap*flap*


    The ground around Terlay started to tremble and Kenta could hear birds flying away. Then Terlay started to emit some cold waves.  Kenta looked at the man in white coat. The man scratched his head and exhaled.


    - Well, [Berserk]. ¨C He looked at the sky ¨C What was its effect again?


    - What are you doing! He is extremely dangerous now! Attack, attack!


    Shouted Kenta.


    The man looked at him, but next moment he heard several loud hits and Terlay, covered in red aura appeared in front of him. The hits were due to the ground being destroyed in places where Terlay, under effect of [Berserk], stepped.


    ¡°He¡¯s done for!¡±, thought Kenta but immediately after that, Terlay, like being hit by something heavy in chest, was tossed up in the air and then, again as if he was hit but something heavy to his back, fell on the ground. He did not get up.


    ¡°What was that?!!¡±, Kenta¡¯s thoughts now were in complete mess. He assumed that this man will be hit by [Berserk] or at least wounded, because the fight against [Berserk] in one to one battle is a complete suicide. But he not only was able to beat him but again did not even move from his position.


    After a few moments, the man in white coat started to move the bodies of the bandits, dragging them into the forest. After that started to repair a road, by filling in the holes, created by Terlay.


    - What are you doing?


    Asked Kenta. The man stopped his actions for a moment and answered.


    - No matter what happened, in the end everything should look like a good composition! Their unconscious bodies did not decorate the road, that one ¨C he pointed on Terlay ¨C even destroyed the ground. So at least I should clean it up and build an original harmony here!


    While saying that, the man put right hand on his heart and raised up his left hand. ¡°He¡¯s an odd fellow¡±, Kenta thought. ¡°He¡¯s abnormally strong¡±, came to conclusion Kenta, ¡°But at the same time his actions are rather whimsical¡±.


    - Unconscious?


    Asked Kenta. He did not see any traces of blood but he did not expect that bandits were still alive. The man in white coat nodded.


    - Yup! I¡¯ve just calmed them down a little.


    After everything was finished, the man finally came to Kenta and untied him.


    - Well, after all you are not decorating the surroundings either.


    Said the man and laughed. ¡°Bastard!¡± Kenta wanted to say that but he did not want to anger the man.


    - I¡¯ll take it as compliment.


    Thought he had no desire to thank him either. Deeply inside he was afraid that this man will get angry after his answer. Now when he looked closer at the man, he could tell that his age was around 20. Kenta¡¯s age was 15.


    - Hahaha! That was a good one. Sorry, did not want to offend you.


    His response was unexpected but Kenta was not bothered with that now. What he was trying to do, is to find the words, which would allow him to accompany this man at least to the nearest town.  So he decided to bow.


    - Thank for your help! My name is Kenta.


    - Well, no problem and all. My name is Shun. So, Kenta, would mind to tell me a story? I don¡¯t think these former soldiers were pursuing you with no purpose.


    - Former soldiers?


    - Yes, they¡¯ve got crown tattoos on their left shoulders, which means they belonged to the kingdom military. As there are several deserters that have not caught yet, I assume they are those deserters.


    Everybody who joins the kingdom army must go and make a magical tattoo, which would allow to recognize a soldier and prevent spy infiltration.


    ¡°Now it could explain, why I was not able escape from them¡±. Soldiers were specialists in forest navigation too.


    - Well, I¡¯d like to tell you but I have to continue my journey.


    - Oh? And where are you going?


    ¡°Well let¡¯s try do to the end¡±, thought Kenta and told his final destination point.


    - I go to Ivelen.


    - ¡°Heroes city¡±? Well, I am going to Serpentia.


    Serpentia is the kingdom''s capital located on the south east. When going to Serpentia, travelers usually pass through Ivelen.


    ¡°Great! That¡¯s my chance!¡±, and Kenta asked


    - May I accompany you? Please¡­


    - Well, ok.. But I¡¯d like to hear your story¡­.


    ¡°Good! I have nothing to afraid now¡±, thought Kenta and looked at Shun, who continued repairing the road. Then he covered bandit¡¯s bodies with branches and leaves, murmured ¡°Wow! They merged with the nature!¡± and came back. ¡°He is indeed strange¡±, was Kenta¡¯s thought.


    - Let¡¯s go!


    Said Shun and started to walk. Kenta followed him.

 Chapter 2. The Mirani town (part 1)

    Kenta told his story. While he was travelling he ran out of money. As he did not want to work, he decided to steal some gold. As nobles usually guarded, he was stealing a little from commoners. However when he entered the Miraculous forest, he was attacked by a bear and fell into a pit. While falling he tore his bag and his money scattered. As he had no time to collect them due to bear, following him, Kenta had to escape without them. In the end he found a river and swam away from the bear.


    In the forest he did some hunting, but he still needed the money. So when he found the bandits he decided to steal the bag, they were carrying. So he followed them and when they fell asleep, he stalked, took the bag and ran away.


    But bandits woke up immediately and began chasing him. In the end Kenta ran into Shun.


    Shun listened to the story. Then he stopped, put the hand on his forehead and said with dramatic voice.


    -          The circle of nature - from the empty pocket to... the empty pocket. Karma!


    While Shun started to laugh, Kenta was annoyed as hell. He was rather pissed earlier, but after the chase and meeting with Shun, he kinda forgot about it. Now,recalling the story made him feel like a loser again. ¡°To meet a bear in this forest, where wild animals are quite rare...To fall and tear the bag with money...To steal from the former soldiers...This chain of bad luck is incredible!¡±, murmured Kenta. And not to mention Shun made Kenta return the stolen bag, reasoning that they would have taken the bag anyway if Shun had not helped.


    Suddenly Kenta remembered the question he wanted to ask Shun earlier.


    -          Shun, did you use your sword when you fought with those guys? And when you broke his...And defeated that [Berserk] guy..How did you do it?


    Shun stopped laughing and scratched his head. Then made a pose as he¡¯s thinking.


    -          Well, let¡¯s see¡­ I used the sword indeed.


    He nodded. ¡°How annoying!¡±, thought Kenta. While accompanying Shun, he got to know several of Shun¡¯s habits. First, before doing or saying anything, Shun scratched his head. Second, when Shun did something he took some strange pose. Third, Shun never answered directly to a question and you had to continue asking him yourself. Sometimes, when Shun was fired up during answering or explanation he was acting as he was on a stage and even making his voice louder. ¡°I wonder whether he was an actor in the past¡±, thought Kenta.


    Travelling actors were not something surprising as there existed traveling theatres. However it¡¯s quite rare to see theatre performer with high sword skills, let alone supreme sword skills, like Shun¡¯s. But Shun''s clothes were familiar a little to Kenta, by he was unable to remember where he saw them. ¡°Pff...Well let¡¯s continue that play. But I wonder why he¡¯s acting like this.¡±.


    -          I see. So when that guy said that you put your hand on your sword¡¯s hilt and took it away, he was right?


    Shun looked at his sword, as asking him that question, and then answered.


    -          Yup! Though I did it quite slow, as they were able to see that move. Aside my master, nobody has been able to see it before.


    ¡°Slow my ass...Hm, So he had a master. I wonder what monster was it.¡±. Shun¡¯s skills were far superior to anyone¡¯s Kenta saw in the past but to imagine, that somebody could teach that - the very idea was incredible.


    -          But what was the skill?


    -          I call it [Fast Draw]. There is a superior version of this move called [Incredibly Fast Draw] but I have yet to find a need to use it. My teacher said that he had to repeat that move several thousand times a day per several years before mastering it. There are also [Draw] and [Slow Draw]


    ¡°With all that eccentric behaviour, I expected this technique to be called like [God¡¯s slash] or [Space cutter]. Yet he has a collection of basic names.¡±


    Overall everything surrounding Shun was surprising. ¡°His teacher was quite a master it seems. Could it be one of the Sword Saints? Or one of the former Sword Saints? Or maybe some unknown sword specialist?¡±. Kenta decided not to ask further.


    As they left the forest area they arrived to Mirani - a small village on the forest¡¯s borders. According to the legends any wonder could happen inside the Miraculous Forest. Several years ago even a shrine for the unknown god was discovered inside. Information about that god was not found in neither history nor religious literature. Some people claimed that the forest were able to heal deadly wounds, terminal diseases and even bring back to life. So a lot of pilgrims started to arrive here in hope for a miracle and blessings from the god. After some time this small town was founded.


    The town of Mirani was built in a form of circle, with a marble fountain located in the center of it. The fountain had a round marble platform in the center with a cross on it. The sole square of the Mirani town was made from the stone blocks. The Mirani had a tavern, a temple, a small hotel and several houses, occupied by people who decided to anchor there and live beside the forest.


    *noise**noise*


    As Kenta and Shun entered the city, they saw a lot of people standing on the main street and looking at the gates in the other end of the city, as waiting for something.


    Kenta forced his way to the front line of the crowd and asked the nearest person, what were the people waiting.


    -          A Sword Saint and a princess! They¡¯re arriving soon!


    -          Eeeek! S...sword saint??? And...princess??!!


    Kenta was unable to keep his cool. For Kenta becoming the Sword Saint was like a dream.


    When the person was born, he had a fixed amount of the magical energy called mana. Its amount could not be increased through the training or aging. Temporary increase of mana was only possible by drinking special elixirs and as only the nobles could afford it, most of the people had to live with their amounts of mana the whole life.


    If the amount of mana was high, person could become a magician. Only 2 of 10 children could become magicians and  most of the children could only become warriors if they decided to join the military.


    And Kenta was not in that 2 people. But he did not regret it - after all, the peak of power in the kingdom was occupied by 12 warriors - the Sword Saints! For Kenta, those Sword Saints were a pinnacle of power and he dreamed to become one of them one day.


    ¡°As the princess is coming too, there is no doubt she is escorted by 12th Sword Saint¡±, it was clear to Kenta.


    The 12th Sword Saint, Leyten De¡¯Leroe was 19 years old guy and he was the youngest sword saint in the whole kingdom¡¯s history. He was a descendant of hero - several generations before, his ancestor, Rubio De¡¯Leroe, stopped the assault of the whole Western Empire''s army alone,  and defended the kingdom, thus becoming a national hero and the first Sword Saint. His sword, shield and armor were national treasures of the kingdom.


    Princess, Elizabeth Silvier, the daughter of the current king Makkonell Silvier, was known as a ¡°descended goddess¡±. She was only 16 years old. With a kind and pure heart, Elizabeth communicated with commoners as equals. She created several decrees that made life easier for common people and rearranged taxes, so countrymen could save more for themselves, without affecting the kingdom¡¯s economy. She often talked to people on the streets, asking for their problems, and helped them. Some people even called her a ¡°saint¡±. Elizabeth also was very beautiful and a lot of boys her age and even older man fell in love with her.


    But she also was a powerful magician. Despite her your young age she had already became a high level magician, a feat usually not achieved even by 40 - 50 years old intermediate level magicians, and she had high chances to become a supreme level in her twenties due to huge efforts in her studying the magic and enormous amount of mana - almost a thousand times bigger than an average person had. Her teacher was the grand royal magician, Obadiah.


    Elizabeth was already engaged with Leyten. It was a god blessed union - the descendant of hero, with the exceptional talent to swords and the ¡°magical princess¡±, with the exceptional amount of magical powers, second to none in the kingdom.


    Both of them were seen as the figures, who would increase the influence and prosperity of the kingdom in the future, overshadowing even Elizabeth''s father achievements. And their child could even become both a supreme magician and a swordsman as Warrior God himself, who was considered the god-defender of the Maderian continent by both the Western Empire and the kingdom of Balux.


    Kenta glanced at Shun, but Shun looked uninterested. ¡°Well, for somebody with his powers, becoming the Sword Saint is a given¡±. Though Kenta knew that Shun was strong however he thought the Sword Saint stronger in the end.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    So he decided to ask about the princess.


    -          Are you not interested in princess?


    -          Not really. I never met her personally but according to people''s talks she¡¯s nothing special.


    -          Hey! You¡¯re being rude! You¡¯ll change your opinion for sure if you see her!


    Kenta poked Shun. ¡°Every person is talking about her greatness and yet he claimed she¡¯s nothing special.¡± muttered Kenta. ¡°By the way...Why did they decide to come here?¡±


    -          They are here! They are here!


    Exclaimed somebody. The whole crowd started to move closer as the horse clattering became louder.


    *clatter*


    And carriage was approaching. It was the beautifully decorated carriage, shining as sun, sparkling with golden and white colors, pulling by the 4 white horses. The carriage was guarded by twelve knights, wearing white armor with golden patterns. ¡°Elites¡­¡±, thought Kenta. Aside from the Sword Saints, the king had elite troops. Every solder in this elite forses was able to defeat 20 -30  ordinary soldiers alone. They also had some knowledge in magic.


    As the carriage stopped, one of horsemen, got off and went to open the door of the carriage.


    The first one to come out was the Sword Saint, Leyten. He was wearing a golden armor with white patterns, which formed the hawk wings and had a white sword on the right. Leyten¡¯s hair was blonde and he had a beautiful face. Overall he was handsome. Girls would fell in love with him for sure.


    By his looks nobody could tell at first glance that he¡¯s the swordsman. But the aura, he was emitting, was definitely the aura of a pure hero. It was giving a warm feeling as the sun was near. Kenta looked at Shun, who was observing the Miraculous forest. ¡°Shun has no aura at all. No, there is seems to be a significant power difference between him and the Sword Saint, no matter how powerful Shun is¡±.


    In Kenta¡¯s understanding, the strong person would be definitely recognized. Even those soldiers in the forest were not able to tell that Shun was strong.


    After coming out, Leyten stretched his hand to help the princess leave the carriage. And when finally the princess came out, the whole crowd were immediately charmed.


    Her beautiful long black hair, her pure green eyes, her small beautiful lips, her gestures and attire - white dress with golden patterns, was giving a feeling of a beauty, surpassing even the human realm. No doubt she was worth the title of ¡°descended princess¡± and the ¡°saint¡±.


    She was giving a warm feeling as the calm warm breeze were blowing on. It was releasing you from any hostility and bad thoughts. People started to cry and smile unintentionally. Also her aura made people desire to swear the loyalty to her.


    The crowd started to cry out the names of the sword saint and the princess. Kenta was cheering while smiling, not even understanding it yet. ¡°How I¡¯d like her to give me at least a glance¡±. As reading his thoughts, the princess looked towards his and Shun¡¯s location, and for a moment her eyes opened wide. Kenta was so happy that he almost fainted, but Shun helped him not to fall.


    -          Thank you.


    Said Kenta. Shun shrugged and then tell:


    -          I still do not get why people so happy. But she¡¯s a strong magician. I give her that.


    -          How could you say that!! Don¡¯t you feel the warmness, which fill your heart with a joy when she is looking at you. Look at that people - they are crying out of happiness just by looking at her. She¡¯s descended goddess, no doubt.


    Shun shooked his head.


    -          And her fiance - this Sword Saint - I doubt you are stronger than him. Just look at his aura - he gives a feeling of person, who could protect you from anything, defeat any army. I even think that his sword skills are far superior to yours.


    Shun shrugged again.


    Meanwhile the princess, with a help of her fiance, left the carriage and moved towards the entrance of the Miraculous forest. They arrived in order to visit miraculous forest¡¯s shrine. As their wedding approaching, before making the final preparations, they decided to visit and ask for the blessing from the god of this forest.


    ¡°I am sure, the god will give them his blessing¡±, said Kenta.


    As they entered the forest, the people started to dissipate. Kenta looked once at the direction where the princess went and then he and Shun entered the tavern.


    As the doors of the tavern were bivalved, Shun threw them open with force of his hands in order to make a powerful entrance.


    *bang*


    ¡°Damn clown¡±, thought Kenta.


    People at the tavern looked for a moment at Shun and Kenta and then continued discussing the arrival of princess.


    -          Did you see her? I felt like I became young again...


    -          If I were only 40 years younger¡­.


    -          You¡¯d still do have any chances¡­


    -          Imagine how beautiful their child will be¡­


    -          The best of both worlds - magic and swords. Blessed union! Let¡¯s have drink for their happiness...


    As the people were celebrating, Kenta and Shun chose a table and a waiter asked for their orders. Kenta ordered a full meal set and Shun ordered only a glass of water.


    -          Why don¡¯t you eat?


    -          I don¡¯t need food.


    -          Wha...


    Shun started to explain.


    -          The food and water...At the certain level of understanding the nature¡¯s flow, you won¡¯t need them anymore...You won''t need to eat and sleep anymore. You can restore your energy directly from the nature.


    -          I see...Then why did you order a glass of water?


    -          I had to order something after all...


    Said Shun nonchalantly.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±, Kenta recalled a story about the sages who could live without food for months. ¡°It seems his teacher was some kind of a sword sage who taught him those movements and secret techniques. It would be convenient to learn them one day.¡±


    In the past it was popular to go to the mountains and train your swordsmanship. According to the old rumours, some masters achieved the inhuman level of understanding the sword and the nature.


    Today you could do training much easier as there were many training grounds in the towns and even the Annual Sword Saint Tournament, founded by Rubio De¡¯Leroe, where swordsmen could test their skills and even have a spar with one of the Sword Saints.


    If a contestant was able to leave a scratch on Sword Saint¡¯s armor or broke his defence, he would become the Sword Saint¡¯s apprentice or even acquire a title of the Sword Saint himself.


    ¡°If Shun participated in this tournament, he would definitely become the sword saint or at least an apprentice¡±, Kenta was sure about, ¡°By the way...¡±.


    Kenta remembered that the tournament took place in Serpentia, so he decided to ask.


    -          Why are you going to Serpentia?


    Shun scratched his head and then spread his arms.


    -          Because I am planning to participate in the Sword Saint Tournament!


    ¡°And he¡¯s 5 years older than me¡±, thought Kenta. Kenta asked about Shun¡¯s age earlier and he gave some vague answer. ¡°Something like 20 I presume..¡±,


    -          And already almost at Sword Saint level.


    Murmured Kenta. As Kenta started to dream about the possible battle between the Sword Saint and Shun, he continued to eat his meal.


    Suddenly he realized.


    -          I have no money!

 Chapter 3. The Mirani town (part 1.6)

    Sorry for not completing that chapter today. Had some issues during the weekend (( I''ve done it for  60 % so I added it as a part 1.6.  I am planning to finish it tomorrow.


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


    ¡°Damn¡±, thought Kenta. Being under the charm of princess and the whole atmosphere around, Kenta unconsciously ordered a meal, despite lacking the money. ¡°Damn Shun, if I did not leave the bag I would not have any problems now!¡±, Kenta was furious. But still he needed some solution.


    -          Shun, could you pay for my meal? I¡¯ll return it later.


    With a smile, asked Kenta. Shun finished his water, raised his glass in front of him and started staring on it.


    -          You know, Kenta...I don¡¯t have any.


    Kenta laughed. ¡°Trying to play as always¡±, thought Kenta but he had some doubts.


    -          Oh, c¡¯mon. How are you planning to pay for the wa...


    ¡°It¡¯s free¡±, completely forgot Kenta and his face turned pale.


    -          Stop joking! You are looking like a noble and there is no double you had some money...


    -          Noble?, - Shun inspected his clothes, - No way. It¡¯s just common uniform. I have been wondering why there is nobody wearing the same as mine though. My teacher said that expected me having that clothes by the way.


    ¡°Who are you really¡­¡±, pondered Kenta. Then he glanced at Shun¡¯s pouch.


    -          Then what is there?


    Kenta pointed on Shun¡¯ black pouch. Shun took it and put on the table.


    -          There are, - he opened the pouch and pulled out a small red stone - Ta-dam. River stones! While travelling when I find any colored stones I put them into my private storage.


    Shun made some smug face. ¡°Well¡­.¡±, Kenta wanted to place his hand flat across his face. Shun smiled and returned the stone back to the pouch.¡°God damn!¡±, cried Kenta in his mind. ¡°I guess I have to silently leave.¡±  As he stood up he saw, a muscular man, approaching his and Shun¡¯s table.


    The man put his hand on Shun¡¯s shoulder.


    -          Hey, sword boy, How about some spar with me?


    For a moment, Kenta felt some cold pressure Shun had emitted. Then it suddenly disappeared. ¡°What was that?¡±


    -          Get your hand off.


    Calmly enunciated Shun. ¡°Usually he has carefree attitude. Why did he change it for such minor issue?¡±, so far Kenta had not seen Shun angry and he did not understand why simply putting a hand on the shoulder could make a person irritated.


    -          Hoy...Boy, you are not that simple. Under that coat I can clearly feel muscles, good muscles, you are hiding¡­


    ¡°Muscles?¡±, Kenta did not think that Shun could possibly have a muscles. He knew Shun was strong but he did not consider that he was muscular. ¡°I did not see any volume in them. Maybe they are simply relief?¡±.


    Generally there was no any need in being muscular in the world with magic. Anything can be lifted, moved or decreased in weight just by using magic.  Even in army bodies were modified using magic, runes and elixirs.


    But there were some people who was training their bodies in order to reach their body limits. Some of them despised the soldiers, who acquired their power using magical enhancements. However in order to achieve the same level of power, martial artists had to spend years of training.


    Shun took guy¡¯s hand away and got up. The guy looked surprised.


    -          You was able to got my hand off easily. I was no wrong when approaching you...You know [those] techniques..


    Shun and the muscular man were glaring at each other. Other people in the tavern were looking at them too. Seeing that Shun was not saying anything, the man decided to introduce himself.


    -          It¡¯s rude not to introduce myself to a fellow martial artist. My name is Xo Ming.


    Shun scratched his head.


    -          Hm...I don¡¯t want to tell my name but guess it cannot be helped. Shun, The Wanderer. No last name. Nice...Or not nice to meet you.


    Suddenly, someone from the surrounding said.


    -          Xo Ming? You mean, that Xo Ming?


    ¡°Xo Ming? The champion of the Martial Arts arena?¡±, Kenta cried out in his mind. As with the Annual Sword Saint Tournament in Serpentia, there existed the Martial Arts arena in Ivelen, where martial artists were fighting each other in order to become the kingdom¡¯s martial arts champion. It was not as popular as the Sword Saint tournament, due to high prestige of the Sword Saint title, but it became widely known after the last year¡¯s incident. The new contestant at that time, Xo Ming, completely wiped out all other contestants and even killed the previous arena¡¯s champion, but ripping his legs and cutting the head. He also attacked the audience and killed several soldiers. It was the most bloody-filled martial arts tournament in the history. Xo Ming left Ivelen, leaving hundreds of corpses. Most of people, who saw him was killed. The king set a reward on Xo Ming.


    ¡°To imagine meeting with Xo Ming there¡±, Kenta was frightened. He heard about Xo Ming and his doings, but he had never saw his face due to lack of posters in his village.


    If he was followed by the kingdom¡¯s forces why he was in the Mirani town? The answer was simple - what would a person do in front of the warrior, whose power was considered to be on the same level as the Sword Saint according to the rumours? Common people had to bear his presence.


    -          Why are looking for the spar with me?, - asked Shun. He looked around. - You, can simply ask for the fight the soldiers over there.


    Shun pointed to some elite troops, standing near the entrance of the Miraculous forest. They were left to guard it, preventing other people from entering the path to the shrine, while the Princess and the Saint were there.


    Xo Ming looked surprised for a moment and then made a predatory smile.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.-          Soldiers...They are nothing much. They cannot fight. They are worthless beings and not martial artists at all. Just magic puppets. They have no power at all. Elites are not better either. Maybe the Sword Saint would make me serious¡­But I doubt it. After all I am just step behind reaching the heights of unimaginable power. The power they won¡¯t be able to touch. Also I don¡¯t want to show the pretty princess the view of her fiance¡¯s blood. But I feel the power from you.


    The noise of people, discussing Xo Ming, started to rise. Shun looked around.


    -          Wow, you are quite famous!


    Said he with a surprised voice. ¡°More like notorious¡±, thought Kenta.


    -          You don¡¯t know my name? That¡¯s surprising. Especially from someone, having knowledge in martial arts.


    -          Well, I indeed know martial arts. Just a little.


    Shun showed a tiny bit of space between two fingers.


    -          I see...Then I guessed right and you are the swordsman first.  So I ask you again to spar with me. I can [sense] that you can satisfy my urge for the blood. You can use any...


    But he was not able to finished his phrase. Shun threw his sword and pouch to Kenta. Then he interrupted.


    -          I know a little about martial arts, but I think that more than enough to defeat you.


    Shun threw his head dramatically and levelled his forefinger at Xo Ming. ¡°Don¡¯t provoke him¡­¡±, pleaded Kenta in his mind. He did not question Shun¡¯s power, but the guy in front of him was the murderer who could turn this place in a bloodshed without second thought. Additionally he had the power rivalling or even surpassing the Sword Saint so he was the one of the strongest beings in the kingdom now.


    Also one thing bugged Kenta. ¡°I know that Shun is a sword specialist. By martial arts too? Maybe he is proficient in magic too? I should ask him that¡±. Nodded Kenta in his mind. ¡°But continue to act like this in front of the strong warrior. Shun definitely something else¡±.


    -          Maybe I overheard or you indeed said that you could defeat me. Maybe you are not skilled at [sensing] after all as you can not feel difference in our powers...


    ¡°Sensing¡­¡±, Kenta was not proficient in martial arts but he studied the theory behind it, when he found out that he had no chances to become a magician.


    Generally, martial arts were build around the power of nature and the goal of training was in reaching the nature, becoming the part of it. According to the legends, the Martial Arts was granted  by The Warrior God to the people, after he finished his journey.


    There were four levels in the martial arts.


    On the first level, [You can sense], martial artists could read the nature¡¯s power around and sense person¡¯s mana, aura, mind. Some skilled martial artists were able to foresee the other person¡¯s actions. That level was one of the most difficult levels to achieve. Basically if you were unable to get ability to [sense], you would not be able to move further. Some people spent their whole lives and were not successful in acquiring that ability. Moreover it was not a battle related level, so after reaching the first level you wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat even an average soldier.


    On the second level, [You can borrow] the martial artist could borrow the nature¡¯s power to strengthen yourself. It¡¯s similar to magical enhancements. He could run faster, break armor, swords, shields with his bare hands. They were also able to heal themselves. On that level they could easily defeat soldiers and even elite king¡¯s soldiers.


    On the third level, [You can control], the martial artist was able to control the nature¡¯s power. On that level he was able to fight evenly with the Sword Saint, the supreme-level magicians and even defeat them. The could alter the state of every object, created by nature. The could turn a tree into a sprout or make it grow. The could turn stones into ashes. The ability to do such things was related to understanding of the nature. If the martial artist had enough skill, he could even bring drastical changes to wide areas.


    The fourth level, [You are the part], was the most difficult one and there was only one person known from the books, who achieved that level after the Warrior God itself, was the great Monk of the Sage Mountain. According to the legends, on the fourth level the dragons resided in the past. That level allowed to martial artist to become the part of the nature.


    Some people believed that there was the fifth level, achieved by the Warrior God. That level allowed him to become a living deity, surpassing even the dragons. According to the story, at the end of his life, the Warrior God surpassed the fourth level and completely merged with nature, becoming the nature itself. Though nobody could  prove that claims so it was just a legend.


    Shun and Xo Ming were glaring at each other. Xo Ming stopped smiling. Suddenly he folded his hands as praying and started to release the fast cold air streams.


    -          Everybody! I suggest you to live this place immediately.


    Said Shun calmly and waved his hand in a way like the people around were disturbing him. A lot of people had left the tavern, but some of them decided to stay. But after Shun¡¯s word they left it too.  ¡°Wow. He is not even afraid!¡±, shouted Kenta in his mind. He was trembling but Shun was standing leisurely, observing Xo Ming with interest.


    Then Shun took off his coat and threw it to Kenta. The air stream caught it and made it fell directly on Kenta, blocking his view. ¡°Damn it!¡±, cried Kenta in his mind. He folded it and with the sword and pouch, and then he with other people started to run towards the exit. ¡°At least I won¡¯t need to pay for the food.¡±, thought Kenta while running.

 Chapter 4. The Mirani town (final part)

    The last part of the chapter 3.


    The whole chapter appeared to be bigger that I expected so the first part is chapter 2, the second part is chapter 3 (1.6) and the last part is that one.


    Best regards


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


    Shun was looking around. The furniture, different bar items were whirling in the air. The liquid was leaving traces around, broken glass, pieces of paper from the order list were creating a spectacular picture.


    *rumble*


    The vortex around Xo Ming began to intensify. Now the wind streams were able to cut small pieces of wood as the little swords.


    -    I don¡¯t understand what you are waiting for. I gave you a handicap in attack by slowing down my nature accumulating power and yet you¡¯re not doing anything.


    Shun nodded as he understood something.


    -    So that¡¯s why...I have been wondering why.., - said Shun and immediately closed the distance between him and Xo Ming as teleported, - ..You are so slow for your level. .


    -    Wha...


    Xo Ming looked confused for the moment and then felt as something hit him in the abdomen. The strike tossed his body and Xo Ming flew through the wall of the tavern and his body fell beside the trees.


    Xo Ming sat up and caught the blood. ¡°How is it possible??? What happened!!!???¡±. He was protected by the barrier, created using the nature magic and still was hit like the barrier did not exist. Moreover Xo Ming still could not feel the power in Shun at all.


    Then suddenly Shun¡¯s look in the eyes changed. It was the pure eyes of the little boy or girl. He placed his hands on the cheeks and exclaimed.


    -    Who could have hurt you?


    He was looking around. Overall it was a bad play. Then the look in his eyes changed again. Now it was the eyes filled with the anxiety and joy. Shun started to laugh.


    Xo Ming was frightened. He started to sense an immensive pressure coming from Shun. It was pure cold waves, filled with rage. However he still could not feel any power in it. ¡°What is it...WHAT IS IT??¡±.  Xo Ming was strong enough to fight the Sword Saint and now with a simple hit from that person, he received a lot of damage.


    Xo Ming breathed out in order to relax. Then he got up and curled his fingers into a fist. ¡°I cannot hold back. He is TOO strong!¡±. He accelerated and made an attempt to attack Shun with his fist. The power behind this move was strong enough to create air waves, lift up stones, grass and wood boards around. Even the windows in the nearby houses broke. His movements left dust traces in the air and gouged the ground.


    *bang*


    Shun slightly touched Xo Ming¡¯s fist and hit him in the chest with a palm. Xo Ming immediately felt that his power weakened. Then his body lifted in the air and he fell, creating a crater in the ground.


    -    Wow, you are too heavy. Even the earth cannot withstand your weight!


    Shun was laughing like crazy. ¡°He¡¯s a mental! I have to use my trump card now!¡±, thought Xo Ming in panic. He still could not feel any power in Shun but all recent events made him realize that Shun¡¯s power is in fact enormous.


    -    Are you really the martial artist?!!


    Exclaimed Xo Ming standing up. Shun scratched his head.


    -    I told you already that I know the martial arts just a little...


    *step*step*


    He was slowly approaching Xo Ming. Every his step made the earth look like it was burnt. Xo Ming retreated for a moment. Shun tilted his head to the right.  Xo Ming saw the tears in Shun¡¯s eyes.


    -    Are you¡­ afraid?


    Shun asked. ¡°He is insane!¡±, Xo Ming made several steps back and answered.


    -    I am not afraid...But now I¡¯ll let you taste some pain...


    He spread his arms and suddenly the area around Xo Ming exploded. Shun covered his eyes with a hand. Next moment he saw Xo Ming, Xo Ming was covered by the red aura. The trees around him were burning and the grass already turned into ashes.


    -    I haven¡¯t completely reached the third level but even slight touch of that level gave me so much power. I am not sure if you are a human anymore. However it does not matter because now you¡¯ll repay for your ACTIONS!


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    *tremble*


    He rushed towards Shun. Every his step made huge explosion and left small craters in the earth. He was leaving after images in every step. Shun smiled with sadness and Xo Ming for a moment saw that Shun''s eyes flashed with a red light. Immediately after that Xo Ming heard a roar and got a chilling feel down his spine.


    *swoosh*


    He looked back and saw an infinite darkness with the two big red spheres looking at him. He did not know what was that. The darkness moved closer to him and Xo Ming accidently fell. But he did not feel the ground.


    ¡°What is that thing¡­¡±, murmured Xo Ming. He was sure that it was some creature. But he did not know what exactly the creature it was.


    The red spheres appeared to be the big eyes of the unknown creature. They gave a hostile look and the more Xo Ming was trying to look into them the more he was realizing that he was losing himself.


    He closed his eyes and then Xo Ming suddenly felt an intense pain lower his torso. He looked down and saw that his legs disappeared.


    -    AAAAAA...


    *roar*


    He screamed and the next moment he saw white fangs coming at him but he could do nothing. He yelled and lost his conscious.


    -    It seems without my sword I lost part of my humanity again¡­, - Shun sighed. Now his eyes was filled with the sadness. In front of him was lying Xo Ming¡¯s body. It seems he was sleeping. Or maybe fainted.  - That guy will never wake up.  But that what you got after all your bad deeds. I hope next time you''ll become a better person.


    Whispered Shun ruefully. Then he looked around.


    -    At least I should repair the nature. Too bad I can¡¯t do the same with that tavern.


    Kenta heard that all the noises and screams ended and decided to run to Shun. When he saw Shun, Shun was tying Xo Ming, who was lying on the ground. Kenta looked at the environment and everything had a look as there was not any battle at all.


    -    What happened?


    Asked Kenta.


    Before he informed the elite soldiers at the entrance, but they refused to help, claiming that they are not allowed to leave their posts.


    The soldiers in the city refused to help either as they decided to protect the villagers just in case of ambush if Xo Ming was not alone. So Kenta was upset, because he could not help Shun. He heard all the explosions and cries, but he could not do anything.


    When everything calmed Kenta decided to see what had happened. And there he saw Shun who was tying Xo Ming. Xo Ming looked like he had fainted.


    Shun finished tying. Then he saw Kenta and smiled.


    -    I gave that guy a hard beating, but it seems he fainted.


    Then he gave a thumbs up.  ¡°I see¡­¡±, Kenta remembered the screams he heard.


    He looked around and saw several buried holes in the ground and a lot of mown grass. ¡°Everything should look like a good composition¡±, Kenta recalled Shun¡¯s words. Shun meanwhile looked at the broken wall and told.


    -    Kenta, could you help me with repairing the wall, please? I doubt I¡¯ll be able to finish it in a day¡­


    -    Why should you bother with it? You caught the wanted criminal. I am sure the kingdom won¡¯t you arrest for destroying some environment.


    Almost everybody, aside soldiers, knew labor spells which helps to build and create items. Shun exhaled.


    -    But I was the one who caused this wall to be destroyed¡­


    -    Ok, but why don¡¯t you use the magic. Even I can do that much.


    His magic skills was poor but it was enough to do some work at home. Also now Kenta believed that with Shun¡¯s knowledge in martial arts and swordsmanship, he could have had some magical knowledge too.


    -    Unfortunately I am unable to use magic. At all. Even my teacher was surprised. He said that I am an anomaly...


    ¡°And he was right¡±, said Kenta and went to inform villages that Xo Ming was caught.

 Chapter 5. Destination

    Kenta returned the coat and other Shun¡¯s items.


    It appeared that Shun was wearing a white jerkin under the coat. The jerkin had a sign on the back - a black and gold crown, with the 7 colored jewels. Every color represented one of the rainbow colors. ¡°What a weird crown¡±, thought Kenta. However he again wondered why it was giving such familiar feeling. Also the crown¡¯s profile was on Shun¡¯s pouch, scabbard and katana¡¯s grip. ¡°Where did he get all this items?¡±, asked himself Kenta.


    He touched the coat during folding and it gave him luxury feeling. Kenta thought originally that it was silk, however after the couple of touches it became clear that it was not silk, despite giving similar feeling.


    Looking how Shun was staring at the magic, repairing the tavern¡¯s wall, Kenta decided to ask.


    -      By the way, what did you mean when you told that you are unable to use magic at all? You meant having too little mana amount? Or have no affinity?


    Aside from the mana amount, every person supposed to have an affinity to a certain magical element. Overall there were 5 magical elements - water, wind, fire, lightning, earth. Most of the magicians had affinity only to one element. The affinity to the element allowed magician to refill his mana, consuming corresponding element from the environment.


    When a person had affinity to water spells, he could cast water-based spells as well as control the water around ¨C in rivers, lakes, seas. Such magician was especially dangerous near those water sources as he could restore his magic using water. Some people said that the strongest water magicians in the history could sink the whole Maderian continent.


    With the wind affinity, the magicians usually had the wind based spells and they were able to draw power from the air itself. They were the one of the two the most dangerous types of magicians as there was almost the unlimited amount of air energy. Also the ability to fly was common for such magicians as it was considered their basic spell.


    Lighting magician could control the lighting and his power was at peak at the time of thunderstorm. The lightning-based magicians were called ¡°The God¡¯s will wielders¡±, as they could bring ¡°the wrath of the God from the sky¡±. The thunderstorms for the common people were considered as ¡°God¡¯s wrath¡±. Aside from that such magicians were famous for their speed as they usually prefered casting lightning spells on themselves in order to move incredibly fast.


    Fire magicians took their power from the fire and flames. When there were burning things nearby they could consume the flame and increase their own power. Also they were able to control the surrounding temperatures, making the environment hotter and colder.


    The earth magicians were the second most dangerous magician type. They were extremely dangerous out of the towns, because there every grain of soil could become their weapon. They could restore their power by consuming the earth energy. Some people said that they were similar to martial artists in that regard.


    However it was prohibited to supply magical energy from the surrounding on regular basis, because it could make a magician to go crazy and go on rampage, where his powers were growing uncontrollably and he could be stopped only by even higher force (for example, stronger magician) or just by dying.


    The strongest fire magician in the history, when he went on rampage, caused the great drought, which covered almost the whole the Maderian continent and lasted for several years, leading to a lot of deaths and creating of the inhabitant regions. Some people even said that it was one of the reasons, which caused the Forgotten Empire to fall.


    Usually people had the affinity to one element, however there were people who had the affinity to multiple elements. Moreover if the magician had enough skills he could combine his elements and use dual- or more type spells. The princess, for example, had affinity to water and wind. And the grand magician of the kingdom had the affinity to three elements - earth, water and fire. Also he was considered to be an incredible genius because he could control the opposite elements - water and fire.


    Every element was stronger than one element and weaker than another. The elements were opposing each other. It went like this: water -> fire -> wind -> earth -> lightning -> water. But it did not mean that the water element magician would be defeated by the lighting element magician. It was all up to the proficiency of using magic spells or chants and mana amount.


    But if the person had enough mana without the affinity to the common elements he was rendered useless as a magician. The same was applied to people who had affinity to multiple elements but not enough mana.


    -       Nope. I don¡¯t have mana.


    -       What do you mean? Every person is born with mana.


    -       Yes. But I don¡¯t have any. At all. My teacher even said - ¡°As if anything related to magic was cut out of your body¡±.


    Answered Shun, putting his hand on the heart.. Kenta was surprised¡°Wow¡±. He had never heard about such cases before. Every human being had been had the mana pool since the ancient times.


    ¡°Well, but with his sword skills and martial arts, if he could additionally have magic abilities...I cannot even imagine what could have he become. Anyway with his skills I doubt he need magic¡± thought Kenta. ¡°I have affinity to the wind but does it matter if I don¡¯t have enough mana. Having just his skill is much more useful¡±. Kenta could become a freelance guardian or even some famous warrior, fighting with the demons. Became the Sword Saint. ¡°I should ask him to teach me something¡±, came to conclusion Kenta.


    Meanwhile the town had celebration. They heard about the incredible battle between Shun and Xo Ming. Xo Ming¡¯s name was famous, but quite a few knew how did he look like. A lot of people gathered around his unconscious body.


    Shun was excitedly telling the story about his battle with Xo Ming. Despite it lasting several minutes, he was telling it as it lasted for several days. He explained his thoughts in some particular actions, told about the incredible magic which Xo Ming used.


    ¡°He¡¯s enjoying himself for sure¡±, exhaled Kenta, looking at Shun, who took ¡°I am a fabulous¡± posture.


    After that, the fainted Xo Ming¡¯s body was given to the soldiers.


    -      He¡¯ll wake up in few days.


    Told Shun. ¡°I wonder what did he do¡±. thought Kenta.


    The Sword Saint, Leyten De''Leroe and the Princess, Elizabeth Silvier, arrived from the shrine. Leyten was the first one to talk with Shun and Kenta.


    -      I, Leyten De¡¯Leroe, am grateful to you, Shun the Wanderer, for the help with Xo Ming. If not those guys, I¡¯d definitely come to help you.


    The Sword Saint bowed. The elite soldiers, left as the guardians of the entrance, decided not to inform him about the fight and he was furious.


    -      You should be executed as the traitors! - shouted Leyten. - Helping people should be considered the top priority!


    -      But, your highness, you are more important than the commoners¡­


    Mumbling one of the soldiers. It was the common knowledge that the nobility were more important that the commoners.


    -      Those people must be protected. That what is your power for. But you decided to abandon your responsibility as the kingdom''s soldiers and humans. I thoroughly disappointed. When we return I will ask the king to send you to that demon exterminating squad to the Mountain Range.


    The look of extreme fear appeared on the soldiers'' faces. Demon exterminating squads were the special units of the kingdom, created to hunt and dispose of any demon appearing inside kingdom¡¯s borders. Moreover there was a special ¡°suicide¡± squad, with that base in the Mountain Range of the Forgotten Empire.


    According to the legend, this range was created by the grand imperial magician to defend the Forgotten Empire from the demon¡¯s march. It was stretching from the north to the south of the Maderian continent as the impenetrable wall. But demons sometimes were able to pass this range and then the special squad had to deal with them.


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    Those who were sent to that squad were usually the veterans, who wanted to die in the battle and different criminals as their sentence. The squad had an unofficial name - ¡°The Last Run squad¡±. The death rate there was extremely high.


    The guardians were trembling. One of them even wanted to cry.


    Then a small hand touched Leyten¡¯s shoulder.


    -      Leyten, you are too harsh. You should not blame the fear of the strong as a grave mistake...


    -      Elizabeth, they abandoned....


    -      You can talk like that because you could deal with that criminal yourself. You are the Sword Saint, the king¡¯s sword, the strongest sword. But they are not as strong as you...And it¡¯s alright to be afraid of the superior power. There is no need to throw away your life just because you can¡¯t die. They did not want to show their fear so they lied about their main duty. I know that.


    Her voice was as the angel¡¯s song, calming the heart. Elizabeth was giving a feeling of some goddess, who wanted to protect her children from the furious warrior god. After her words, no one could be angry at those soldiers. Though nobody was angry at them from the very beginning. Only Leyten decided to punish them.


    -      They are the warriors and only then humans.


    -      You are wrong. They are the humans and only then they are the warriors. It¡¯s a mistake to treat people like the dolls. They have their own strengths and weaknesses.


    Leyten answered something and Elizabeth made a sulky face.


    -      It feels like a love-quarrel


    Said somebody. A lot of people gathered around to hear the conversation.


    ¡°She is definitely the worthy princess. She¡¯s like a mother for the all the kingdom¡¯s people. ¡°, said Kenta,¡±And she is only one year older than me. ¡° That drastical difference was obvious to Kenta. ¡°We are from different worlds¡±.


    Kenta looked at Shun. Shun was looking like he was day-dreaming. ¡°Cannot believe he¡¯s not affected by the princess at all¡±.


    -      Shun, so what do you think of the princess? She is a saint indeed.


    Shun scratched his head and answered.


    -      Well, all I can see is a little girl who has too much power for her age.


    -      You are talking like an old man.


    Muttered Kenta and kicked Shun. Shun laughed.


    -      You are even younger...


    Meanwhile the princess approached the guards.


    -      Look at me,  - said Elizabeth with a calm voice. - You should train hard and not forget about today¡¯s event. Next time you¡¯ll face the danger with your own power and won¡¯t lie just to free yourself from the responsibility.


    The guardians faces, was like the  were engliten by something.


    -      We are deeply sorry!


    Bowed both of the guardians. After the talk they came to Shun. Shun waved his hand.


    -      Well. No problem. He was stronger than you anyway so I doubt you would be much help.


    Last phrase reminded Leyten of something.


    -      Sorry, Shun. May I call you Shun? May I ask where are you going? I¡¯d like thank you for saving those people even at least if it just by giving a ride in the carriage to your destination.


    ¡°Wow¡±, said somebody from the crowd. Never they heard about any person riding in the royal carriage except the Sword Saints, the princess and the king.


    -      I¡¯d like to decline. I prefer travelling by foot. It allows you to see a lot of places, meet people and communicate with them.


    -      I see. But if you ever come to Serpentia, please visit the palace. I am sure my father would like to talk with such strong person.


    Said the princess. ¡°Audience with the king!¡±, exclaimed Kenta.


    -      It might be rude but may I hear where you are going? Judging by your look you are not from here.


    Asked Leyten.


    -      Well, we are going to Ivelen. Because this guy, - Shun patted Kenta¡¯s head, - wants to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament.


    ¡°Wha¡­¡±, Kenta decided to keep his cool in front of the Sword Saint and the princess, so he just nodded.


    -      Oh, -  Leyten was surprised, - you know martial arts?


    Shun answered before Kenta was able even to open the mouth.


    -      He is my student.


    -      Your age is the same as mine, but you already has a student. I feel jealous.


    Said Leyten with admiration. The Sword Saints were not allowed to have pupils.


    -      I hope one day will be able to spar each other.


    Added Leyten.


    ¡°Shun is awesome!¡±, said Kenta. He was able to acquire the invitation to the royal palace, the audience with the king, the gratitude of the princess and even the Sword Saint want to spar with him¡±.


    -       Well then. We¡¯ll have our leave.


    Said Leyten and then he and the princess went to the carriage. The crowd cheered for them and even some children even were following the carriage.


    When the carriage left the town, Shun and Kenta was moving towards the gates of the town too. As they left the gates and walked for several hundred meters, Kenta shouted.


    -       What were you thinking?!!! What martial arts tournament??!! Are you joking?? I told you that I am going to Ivelen but I never told you why and obviously it was not because of the tournament!


    Shun looked as he was surprised.


    -       If you don¡¯t like then you should have just told them that you won¡¯t participate because¡­ you are afraid....After the yesterday¡¯s event they¡¯ll understand you for sure.


    Shun started to laughed. ¡°Bastard!¡±, Kenta was furious and in panic. He did not want to look like a coward in front of them.


    -       I am not afraid! I just don¡¯t know the martial arts at all!


    Living the fear aside, Kenta indeed did not know martial arts and participating in that tournament was some kind of bad joke. Shun stopped laughing. He put his hands on Kenta shoulders and looked into his eyes.


    -       So...Your only problem is that you do not know how to fight, right?


    Kenta felt awkward.


    -       Yes...


    Shun stood up and looked at the sky. The sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly. The weather was calm and they was not any wind too.


    -       This can be changed!


    Exclaimed Shun.


    -       How are you planning to do that?? We have only a week before the tournament and I am even not on the first level of the martial arts!


    Shouted Kenta. Martial artists usually spent years in order to get to the first level. And in the tournament participated martial artists of the second level and above. Shun scratched his head and smirked.


    -       We¡¯ll use the shortcut!


    Then Shun took out his katana. Now Kenta remembered that Shun had never took out his katana before.


    The katana was shining brightly on the sun. Its blade was clean and was sparkling with rainbow colors. The katana was giving a blinding light. Kenta even had to cover eyes from it.


    -       What an odd katana¡­


    Just started to tell Kenta and then he felt strong pain in his heart. He looked down and saw the katana, sticking out of his chest.


    Kenta felt salty taste in the mouth and saw the blood drops falling on the ground. His vision was becoming blurry.


    -       The idea behind martial arts is to become as close as possible to the nature. I¡¯ll make you gravely close to the nature. To the point of you almost becoming one with it.


    -       Wha..


    Kenta opened his mouth but was unable to make a sound. He looked at Shun and for the second he saw Shun¡¯s eyes glittering with red. ¡°What is..¡±. Kenta fell on the ground.


    Shun looked around.


    -       Now, I think I should move his body to the forest in order to prevent unnecessary questions.

 Chapter 6. Before the training

    Kenta woke up, feeling the smell of the roasted meat.


    He saw a weird dream where 7 beautiful busty women were dancing around in a ring. Each of them had a different hair color: red, orange, yellow,  green, blue, indigo, violet. The environment was brightly white, to the point of blinding.


    Every woman drew closer to Kenta, said something and returned to others. Kenta did not understand what were they telling him.


    In the end he lost conscious. The last thing he heard was a female scream¡­


    -       What was that...


    Asked Kenta. He did not expect to hear the answer. But the smell of meat became stronger. ¡°Mm...How tasty..¡±, thought Kenta and opened his eyes. He thought he was dead so when Kenta was opening his eyes he expected either some valley with flowers or the flames of gehenna. But not that he still would be in the kingdom.


    What appeared before Kenta¡¯s  eyes was a lot of black and white lines, representing object contours. In that lines he was able to recognize a small house and the river beside it. In the river Kenta was able to sense some moving objects. ¡°A fish?¡±, Kenta was able to sense the swimming fish. Also he saw a lot of lines representing the forest in the distance. Kenta himself was lying on the ground in front of some moving lines, similar to a triangle. ¡°A fire?¡±, thought Kenta. He was bandaged with a some cloth.


    -       I am not dead...


    Kenta saw Shun¡¯s countour, who was quietly sleeping in the chair. ¡°Bastard! Cut me with a sword without even warning! I will have my revenge!¡±, said Kenta and started getting up.


    Shun opened his eyes. He looked at Kenta and made a surprised look.


    -       Oh my god! You are alive!


    ¡°Moron!¡±, Kenta felt a little pain on the left. Shun made a serious face.


    -       You should rest for a while...By the way. Welcome to the world of living!


    Shun smirked. Kenta gritted his teeth. Shun approached Kenta and sat in front of him.


    -       Do you feel any changes inside of you?


    Asked he with comforting voice. ¡°Now that you mentioned¡­What the hell???¡±


    -       Erm erm...I can see some black and white lines instead of objects...


    Shun nodded.


    -       Well, now you are able to [sense]. Or to be more precise [see]. Moreover you sensing abilities are incredibly high, because for a moment, you were a truly part of the nature.


    -       So I was dead¡­


    -       Well, yes. Sorry for that, but that was the only way.


    Told Shun with a serious face. ¡°If you did not make this whole clownage with the tournament, everything would be fine without that. Why the hell Shun did that?¡±, though Kenta was angry he also felt joy too as now he could see his future path as martial artist at least.


    The cut, left by the sword was aching. Kenta decided to ask.


    -       I was dead...Wait! If I was dead, why I was revived???


    Shun took his katana, that was lying on the ground beside him.


    -       Thanks to that! Average sword would simply killed you, but that katana is special. It¡¯s made from a special material by a smith many years ago. If I cut a heart with it, the person will die and then revive. Moreover he will acquire abilities in martial arts after that.


    Kenta was shocked. ¡°Insane! If the information about it spread, thousands of people will want to acquire that katana!¡±, said Kenta. ¡°But why did he tell about it to me? Does he really trust me?¡±


    -       But as some kind of protection mechanism, it alters people¡¯s memory and if anybody asked them how to they acquire powers, they¡¯ll answer that they either trained or have a talent, or had a great teacher and etc.


    ¡°Bullshit! I clearly know how did I acquire that powers! I was cut by that sword!¡±.


    -       Ok, Shun. I don¡¯t believe that I won¡¯t be able to tell it.


    -       Then let¡¯s test it!


    Said Shun enthusiastically.


    -       Wow! You are have such high abilities despite your age!, - shouted Shun, making amazed facial expression. - How did you get them?


    ¡°Damn clown!¡±, thought Kenta. ¡°I acquired it with your sword!¡±, thought Kenta and told


    -       I am just a talent..What????


    Shun started laughing. Kenta gulped and tried to repeat.


    -       I am the talent!


    ¡°What the hell!!!??? I clearly know how I get it but I can¡¯t tell it¡±. Seeing Shun dying laughing, Kenta was surprised and shocked at the same time. Shun finally stood up and said.


    -       In the end only the owner has the knowledge about that katana¡¯s ability and it¡¯s up to him how to use it. The right to wield that katana is granted by the previous owner himself. So only I can give that katana to another person. Even stealing it won¡¯t work.


    ¡°Well...Looking now, I doubt anybody can steal it from Shun honestly. He may look like a carefree person but at the same time he gives a feeling of true reliability. Not to mention he¡¯s strong as hell¡±.


    -       Mystical...You katana is definitely some kind of rare artefact. I cannot even imagine what other powers it may have.


    Kenta groaned. And at the same time he was afraid.¡°It was able to alter my actions! It is almost as it can control my mind. It¡¯s frightening¡­¡±, said Kenta with a worry. ¡°His powers, his items...No. He¡¯s something special. Moreover I cannot sense anything from him. I can see only his outline. He looks just like that tree over there. Anyway I want to return my usual sight.¡±Kenta decided to ask.


    -       Erm...Shun, how to disable that seeing or sensing or whatever it¡¯s called...


    Shun looked confused for a moment and then said.


    -       You mean, [All seeing eye]?


    -       [All seeing eye]?


    -       Yup. It¡¯s a special skill! In order to become a martial artist, you have to acquire an ability to sense the environment. To be more precise you need to sense the object structure. That skill is called [All sensing eye]. On the basic level you should be able to sense object as some formless smoke with a color, depending on the object. For example the tree will look like a green smoke, the human will look like a red smoke and so on.


    -       But I see the tree as contour and not as the smoke at all.


    -       Right! This is [All seeing eye]. It¡¯s the highest level of the [All sensing eye]. More exactly it¡¯s a final level of [All sensing eye] as you can see the objects just like the nature see it.


    -       So the nature recognize objects only by its contour?


    -       Yes. The smell and object¡¯s look are defined by the living beings...Humans, demons themselves. For the nature such characteristics do not exist. There objects are either dead or alive.


    Shun exhaled and scratched his head.


    -       But for the tournament you need the basics and some battle skills. With your current level of understanding you are at the level of the top martial artists. Moreover now [All seeing eye] is your default way to see the environment and you¡¯ll have to learn how to see the world like you used to be. You are in the realm of nature now. The level, achieved only by the couple of martial artists in the past. You only lack techniques. As I¡¯ll teach you required skills, during the tournament you¡¯ll be the one to shine. Hahaha!


    Shun started to laugh. Kenta was excited too. ¡°I am a martial artist now!¡±.


    Meanwhile in Seprentia....


    The royal family lived in the old castle, built at the time of the Forgotten Empire. It¡¯s said that their ancestors occupied it when the empire was in breakdown. Despite its old age, the castle looked almost as just built due to special magic spell, used during its building, which prevented aging of the materials. It was some ancient spell and no one knew it today.


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


    The king MakKonell Silvier, was standing in front of the big, wall-size picture in his room. On the picture the woman was portrayed. She looked similar to Elizabeth Silvier, but she had white hair and green eyes. The woman¡¯s name was Silicia Silvier. She was a mother of Elizabeth and the wife of MakKonell. She died several years ago. On the picture Silicia was wearing queen¡¯s white dress.


    -       One day...Our daughter will fulfill her role.


    Said MakKonel with some sadness in his voicel. Somebody knocked on the door to the room.


    -       Enter!


    Said the king and moved towards his table. It was the beautifully decorated table with a chair, similar to a throne.


    The one who entered, was the old man in some luxury armor. The armor was similar to the armor of the Sword Saints, except it was white and not golden like the one, the Sword Saints weared. The man came with a folder in his hands, which contained some papers.


    -       MakKonell, I came to report that Xo Ming was defeated.


    -       I see...So Leyten did his work. But there was not any need for you to report me that, Reiren. You could always send some soldier.


    Reiren Castello was the leader of the elite kingdom¡¯s forces and also the old friend of the king. They fought together many battles in the past and the king even wanted to make Reiren, his advisor. However Reiren decided to stay as a leader of elite kingdom¡¯s forces.


    In the youth he wanted to become the Sword Saint. But during the tournament, despite being the winner of it, he was not able to even touch the 11th Sword Saint, who happened to be his opponent. But he gave a decent fight, even made the Sword Saint sweat so in the end it was decided to make him a leader of elite forces.


    -       Well..No, MakKonell. Something unexpected occurred.


    Said Reiren with a serious tone. The king looked frightened for a moment.


    -       Something happened with my daughter?


    After the death of his wife, he sweared to protect his daughter. He even arranged a marriage with Leyten, just to make sure she would be protected by the Sword Saint day and night.


    Reiren looked surprised and then laughted.


    -       Ah! No no! Everything is fine with Elizabeth. - he opened a folder and gave the document to the king. It was a white paper with the kingdom''s emblem. - According to the report, Xo Ming was defeated by the unknown person, who introduced himself as Shun. Nothing detailed is known about him and his name can be a fake. He¡¯s about 20 years old. Also he had a companion Kenta. Who is 15. More details in the report.


    King read the report. The report contained information about Shun, his companion, his clothes, items and some additional details. Basically only the things you may know about the person whom you had just met. After reading the report King stood up.


    In order to deliver the report, nobles in the kingdom usually hired some lighting magician as messenger, because they could move much more faster than any carriage. And the king gave two messengers to Leyten and Elizabeth for their journey. So the one of them just arrived.


    Originally he sent his daughter and her fiance to the shrine in order to make Leyten fight with Xo Ming. The  king, with the help of the grand magician, who used some old magic, tracked the steps of Xo Ming and MakKonell was planning to send Leyten to deal with him, when the time was right. The king wanted to test if Leyten were strong to become the next leader of the Sword Saints. It would make him the youngest 1st Sword Saint in the history.


    Current leader, Jin Yakoi, was already over 250 years old and wanted to retire. All the Sword Saints except Leyten were rather old people. Despite having the tournament every year, during the last 60 years there hadn¡¯t appeared a person worthy the Sword Saint title. Since MakKonell became a king, he could not remember any formidable fighter in the tournament.


    But once Leyten appeared, he and other Sword Saints realized, the he could become the next Sword Saint.


    The Sword Saints for many years wanted to make a leader someone young, because they believed that he could bring the changes to the current Sword Saint system as it relied on the rules, created several hundreds years ago. So when Leyten became the Sword saint the saw that as perfect opportunity. Moreover he was a descendant of the hero, who saved the kingdom and even got the respect from the Western Empire so he was a perfect candidate.


    But in order to make that somehow official, they wanted some kind of evil who would become a threat only the Sword Saint could deal with. As the kingdom was rather peaceful, it was very difficult to find such person. Only the Western Empire had such people.


    But a direct confrontation with the Western empire was out of question. They were strong enough to conquer the kingdom using only 1/6 or 1/7 of their resources, but they did not do that in the respect to Rubio De¡¯Leroe, who stopped their army alone and the current grand magician, Obadiah, who wielded the power and knowledge rivalling empire¡¯s court magicians.


    So when Xo Ming appeared in the Mirani town, the Sword Saints and the king saw that as a great opportunity and sent Leyten to the place, where Xo Ming was, under the pretext of visiting the shrine of that unknown god, who could create miracles.


    ¡°But it seems that plan failed. That Shun person defeated him. And he is the same age as Leyten¡±.


    There were a lot of magicians and warriors who did not display their power and who were strong enough to become the widely-known figures in the kingdom. There were those famous monks on the Sage Mountain, who were trying to reach out the Warrior¡¯s God powers, using the teachings he left. Also some people said about a hermit, living somewhere in the Mountain Range of the Forgotten Empire.


    -       From that report I can say that Shun is quite a skillfull warrior as he was able to capture Xo Ming. Also I am curious about one pharagraph.


    MakKonell pointed to the lines, which were telling that Shun did not have even a scratch on him.


    -       How could it possible? Xo Ming was on the Sword Saint level presumaby but that Shun was not even wounded.


    -       I was surprised too, MakKonell. I asked the messenger, who brought the report - Reiren sat in the chair.  He stopped dreaming about becoming the Sword Saint many years ago but he was still interested in those people, who had great powers. - And he told me that even Shun¡¯s clothes were perfectly fine too.


    ¡°This is incredible¡±, MakKonell wanted to meet that person. If everything said there was true, that meant that the kingdom had a candidate into the Sword Saints ranks. ¡°We were lucky tp meet Shun. We should somehow recruit that person into our army¡± thought MakKonell. Despite living for many years peacefully, recently, the kingdom started to recieve a lot of reports  about the villages, attacked by the demon forces and the kingdom could run into a situation where they would not be able to protect themselves.


    -       Anything else that was not mentioned in the report?


    -       Well, it seems that Leyten had a chat with Shun. He may know something.


    -       I see. When he¡¯ll arrive, ask him to visit me.


    -       I was planning to do that.


    -       Thanks, Reiren.


    ¡°Also I should ask Elizabeth about him¡±, murmured the king.

 Chapter 7. Possible companion?

    Shun briefly explained what were awaiting Kenta. First of all he had to learn [Natural Sight] or return his ability to see things like humans did.


    -       It will be much easier than learning [All Seeing Eye]. After all you had natural sight originally so it¡¯s easy for you to imagine how it should look like. Basically the whole martial arts world is based on the desire to acquire nature abilities. And the main goal is to fuse with the nature. So any martial artist has to learn how to act and see the same way as the nature do. They have to imagine it, not knowing the exact result.


    Listening to Shun, made Kenta realized that he actually got very lucky. Also it seemed despite his claims, Shun knew a lot about the martial arts.


    -       You on the other side know the both. So just close your eyes and try to remember the original view.


    Kenta followed Shun¡¯s instructions. Meanwhile Shun went to the river and started fishing.


    Kenta was trying to concentrate remembering his original sight. Sometimes he opened the eyes, just to check whether he did that or not. After couple of hours he was able to do it.


    -       Shun! I did it!


    Shouted Kenta. Shun gave thumbs up and continued fishing. ¡°Erm¡­¡±, Kenta expected further instructions.


    -       Wait a minute! I think I¡¯ll be able to catch something special!


    Said Shun. But after a few tries he gave up.


    -       Today is not my day. Meh...


    Sighed he.


    -       Let¡¯s get back to your training. Are you able to revert to the [All Seeing Eye]?


    -       I don¡¯t know.


    -       Try it.


    Kenta closed his eyes, imagined [All Seeing Eye] and opened them. Nothing changed.


    -       Try again. Try until you¡¯ll be able to switch between human and natural sight freely. It¡¯s essential for your next training.


    Kenta did as Shun said. After couple of hours Kenta was able to that.


    -       Well not bad. In the future you will be able to do that at will by simply winking.


    -       Wow!


    For now Kenta had to close his eyes, imagine the sight and then open the eyes.


    -       Now look around using [All Seeing Eye]. You see yourself as the object in the natural environment.- Said Shun. Kenta looked at his body and he indeed looked like a person''s outline moving around other lines. - What you need to do is to become the part of it so you won¡¯t see yourself as outline. Won¡¯t see yourself at all. It¡¯s just as simple as learning sight but it will give you a huge benefit in the battle skills. But let¡¯s leave it for tomorrow and let¡¯s go to sleep. I found couple of mattresses in the house. It seems there is only one bed though.


    Shun moved towards the house entrance. Kenta now decided the question that had been bothering him.


    -       Wait, Shun...Where we are and what is that house?


    Shun had been using its facilities as he was at home, but Kenta doubted that it was Shun¡¯s house.


    -       This one? Well I don¡¯t know. - Shun shrugged. - While I was pulling your body into the forest, I saw this house. As the entrance was opened I decided to look into it in order to find something to cover your wound. Also the meat we ate I took from the storage in there.


    Kenta was shocked.


    -       Erm...So you are actually a burglar?


    -       It was opened anyway, why should have I passed it? That green cloth I covered you I took from the chest there. Also I took some medicaments too. And the red healing elixir I got too. Quite a catch.


    Said Shun casually and laughed.


    Healing elixirs were special potions, which allowed to heal different wounds. They had different colors and the strongest effect gave the elixir with red color, while the weakest gave the green. Red potions could heal even deadly wounds but they were extremely rare and expensive. ¡°Damn!!! He stole somebody¡¯s red elixir!! It costs hundreds of gold coins and rare too! Now I became a criminal...No! Wait! I am a victim and he¡¯s the criminal! I¡¯ll use that version¡­¡± panicky thought Kenta. His hope also was that he and Shun were going to leave that place soon.


    But judging from what Shun said regarding next day, it appeared to be that he was not planning to leave the house.


    -       Kenta, I found a lot of interesting books inside the house. Want to take a look?


    -       What are you talking about? Aren¡¯t we leaving it soon?


    -       Of course not! I was lucky to run into that place so I decided to stay here for a few days. Much better than sleeping in the woods. Also it will be a good place for your training.


    Shun gave thumbs-up and Kenta¡¯s face became pale. ¡°God damn it!¡± he wanted to run away but at the same time he wanted to have some training too. ¡°I give up! I¡¯ll blame Shun for everything and I don¡¯t care anymore!¡± came to conclusion Kenta.


    Shun moved towards the entrance. Kenta followed him. Though moving gave him some pain, he did not want to be left behind. When he entered the house, Kenta recognized that there definitely a woman was living. Though he did not know exact number of people there, but judging by Shun¡¯s word about only one bad, she lived alone.


    Overall everything was clean and bright. Also there were a lot of flowers. Kenta saw several shelves, filled with differed bottles for elixirs. ¡°She is an alchemist?¡±


    Alchemist was a specialty, which allowed person to create and sell potions. Usually females chose that specialty, because it was calming, quite profitable and did not require a lot of physical strength. Males preferred specialty related to weapon crafting or battle related like hunting and military service.


    Shun went to the center of the house, where the big green carpet was lying. He moved it away and under the carpet appeared to be a door, leading under the floor. ¡°His senses are just like the dog¡¯s¡±, concluded Kenta.


    -       It seems there is a basement.


    Said Shun with enthusiasm. It seems the door was locked, but Shun effortlessly broke the lock.


    -       Feel yourself at home...


    Murmured Kenta. Shun disappeared into the basement but Kenta decided to stay in the living. He took a seat and started to look around.


    Suddenly Kenta heard a sound of glass breaking and looked at the entrance. He saw a woman standing here. She had red hair and a normal face. Her eyes was green. She had full lips which gave her some sexy appeal. ¡°Though after the princess every woman will seem so-so. ¡°, thought Kenta. The woman¡¯s body was hidden under the cloak.


    The glass flask, filled with different colored grass was lying on the floor and its shards were scattered around.


    -       Feeling yourself at home, scoundrels!? I don¡¯t know how you broke the spell I set up to protect my home, but I won¡¯t allow you to escape!


    ¡°Spell? She¡¯s a magician??¡± When a person had abilities to become a magician, he had to enroll into the magical academy. Usually after that magician became either court magician or join military. He also could become a teacher in the academy. So usually they lived either in the big cities or with the soldiers. It was quite rare to see a magician in the rural areas. Only if they were visiting their relatives. ¡°She seems to live here. Well...We are done¡­¡± thought Kenta.


    -       Erm erm...You are wrong! I was kidnapped by the man, who is hiding now in the basement! Look, - he showed his wound - I am even wounded!


    Then he heard Shun¡¯s voice.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.-       Kenta! Just look what have I found! It¡¯s even better than the meat we ate!


    The woman gave fierce look to Kenta and he raised his hands. ¡°Damn you, Shun!!!¡±


    The woman moved her left hand. Kenta saw several rings on her fingers. Every ring was bejeweled with a red stone. Then Kenta saw that the woman also had rings on the right hand but with transparent stones.


    ¡°Magic rings!¡± came up with the idea Kenta. ¡°If she is a magician, it obvious that she will have such magic items¡±. Then Kenta felt that something invisible chained him. ¡°Damn it!!¡±


    Almost every magician had a magic item. Magic items allowed to increase the magical power and sometimes speed up the spell chanting. There were a lot of types of magical items: rings, staffs, barrettes, chain lets and even swords. The reason behind such variety was that it was easy to create the magic item. You could use any item and then you had to combine it with a magic gem, using a special spell. Magic gems could be bought on the market.


    To create the magic gem a magician had to use his magical force and compress it. The more power magician used the stronger the gem would be. There were even families which were specializing in creating magical gems and fusing it with the items.


    Depending on the magician¡¯s affinity, the magician could produce the corresponding gem. Every gem had different color. The gem created with fire element was red. The gem created with water was blue. The gem created with earth was green. The gem created using wind was transparent. The gem created with lighting was transparent with slight yellow color in it.


    In the legends, it was mentioned the magician who had so much power, that there was no the item he could use. But in the last several hundred years such person did not appear. Even the grand magician had to use the staff, despite being the strongest magician in the kingdom.


    Females loved jewelry-like magic items. But a lot of people preferred staffs, because staffs usually had bigger magic gems embedded in it. Also elderly magicians used them as sticks. Jewelry could compensate the gem size with amount of it. So female magicians usually had a lot of rings and other jewelry.


    When woman¡¯s the head moved, Kenta was able to saw a glimpse of the earring, with slightly yellow gem. ¡°Aside from the fire and the wind, she has the lighting too!!! She¡¯s a three element magician!!!¡± cried out Kenta. Three element magicians were incredible rare and currently there was only one known magician in the kingdom¡¯s history - the grand magician.


    ¡°That woman is pretty incredible! I wonder what Shun is planning to do¡±, said Kenta. He was curious whether Shun would have a direct confrontation with her, because so far he was culprit behind this incident.


    -       Hey you, in the cellar! I caught your accomplice! If you don¡¯t want something to happen to him, you better come out!


    Her voice was rather pleasant to hear despite it being rather loud. ¡°Though the princess is the best¡­¡± Kenta was completely lost. He decided to leave this situation to Shun.


    After a few moments, Shun came out with a big bottle of wine. ¡°Shun...I have no words to describe it. Are you provoking her on purpose???¡±, though Kenta. Despite knowing that Kenta was caught, Shun decided to appear with the just stolen bottle.


    -       Kenta is not my accomplice, but my friend! - he opened the bottle and did several sips. - Regarding your claim of some protecting spell...I did feel something but it was nothing special.


    ¡°Shun was able to break the spell!¡± the ability to break spells usually had the magicians itself and Kenta never heard about the swordsmen or the martial artist who were able to destroy magic too.


    -       You are rather brave and impudent to come out like this. But your punishment will be severe...


    Kenta looked at the woman. Suddenly her iris changed color and there appeared some star-like sign. ¡°Her eyes changed?¡± Kenta had not heard about such phenomenon.


    -       Magic Eyes? Incredible! It¡¯s been a long time since I saw ones.


    Shun said that with surprised voice. ¡°He saw this before??? Where the hell did he come from?¡± Kenta was amazed. ¡°How vast is Shun¡¯s knowledge? I don¡¯t even know what to expect from him.¡± Shun surprised Kenta every time. And since Kenta joined him, he already had been able to meet the Sword Saint, the princess and even the criminal. Now they ran into this magician with the magic eye¡¯s ability. ¡°Shun indeed is an anomaly¡±, recalled Kenta the words, Shun told him in the Mirani town.


    As soon as the woman used her magic eyes, he face suddenly changed. It became almost white and  filled with incredible fear. She even started to tremble. Suddenly Kenta felt that his invisible chains were released.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Kenta did not understand why the woman was frightened. Shun stood as usual, only he put a bottle on the table.


    *crack*


    The woman made a step back. Kenta heard some crackle and then the woman turned around and ran towards the forest leaving flashes and sparks behind. ¡°She activated lighting magic!¡± Kenta remembered that he saw this magic once, when he was passed by the kingdom¡¯s messenger.


    Kenta turned back to Shun who lowered his head. Then Shun spread his arms out and looking at the ceiling said with the sadness.


    -       Damn...I should have predicted it! I was so excited to meet the bearer of the magic eyes that I forgot about its abilities.


    Kenta wanted to ask, what abilities Shun were talking about, because the magic eyes power was new to him. But Shun exhaled and laughed.


    -       But the good news is that we may acquire the new companion!


    Said Shun, clapped Kenta on the shoulder and set off in pursuit of the woman. He did it so fast that for a second Kenta was able to see Shun¡¯s after image clapping him.


    -       Oh c¡¯mon¡­


    Pronounced Kenta. He was tired of being surprised, but now he got to know that Shun could move incredibly fast. ¡°I had a feeling that he was faster than that woman was¡­¡± thought Kenta.


    Shun was chasing that woman. And there was a reason behind that.


    -       I was carefree...


    He knew a lot about the magic eyes.


    The magic eyes gave a special power which could be used or ¡°activated¡± at will if the person knew about its existence. It was similar to the [All Seeing Eye] however all the owners of the magic eyes had a common ancestor.


    According to the legend, once a strong demon was sealed in a person using special ritual. After the ritual the person gained an ability to [Take the Invisible]. It was a powerful ability allowing to see through any person¡¯s soul and even took control over that person. His descendants inherited that power, though it was gradually becoming weaker over the centuries.


    Also during the fall of the Forgotten Empire a lot of bearers of the magic eyes were hunted down due to believe that they were the culprits behind empire¡¯s collapse.


    "I don¡¯t want to kill her just because she was able to learn something about me" thought Shun. He could easily catch her if he wanted. He was not losing her location even for a second and he could move even faster. But he decided to chase for a while in order to find some solution to the unexpectedly occurred problem.

 Chapter 8. Proposal

    ¡°When I told Kenta about the possible companion, I was joking and did not think about it as a solution¡­¡±, took thought Shun. ¡°If she really saw that much then It will difficult even to have a conversation...But first of all I should ask what did she really see¡­¡±, came to conclusion Shun and disappeared in the air.


    The woman was running through the forest. She used [Lightning God] technique or spell, which allowed to transform a person into the lightning itself. Though only temporary as this spell gave too much pressure on the body. But she wanted to run as far as possible.


    ¡°I know my chances are slim, but I have to try at least¡±. She dropped her cloak because it was interfering with her movements. She knew that that person followed her so she decided to cast several trap spells. Then she accelerated even more.


    Shun was able to clearly see that traps, because he had an ability to sense any magic regardless whether it was hidden or not. This ability came from his proficiency in [All Seeing Eye]. Everything created by the nature was complete and well-merged into the surroundings. Even slight change to it created artificially was easily recognizable with that skill because it displayed changes as lines with odd, unnatural angles to the environment.


    But Shun decided to test her traps.  He moved towards the closest one. As soon as entered a trap¡¯s range it was activated and several lightning bolts flew towards him. Shun took out his katana and made several swings. The lightning bolts were cut in half and its parts hit the ground making several small explosions.


    Shun¡¯s katana, aside granting abilities in martial arts, also was immune to any magic and its owner was able to destroy magic spells.


    Then Shun turned to the second trap. Suddenly around him exploded four trees and from the explosions several lightning rods appeared creating a cage-like facility, trapping Shun inside. But he casually did a circular move with his katana and the cage disappeared.


    -       Do you have anything except lightning? I am tired!


    Shouted he towards the direction where that woman was running.


    Shun saw another trap and ran to it. Immediately he felt some air pressure. Then under him the ground splitted in half and he almost fell in the created pit. The created pit was several hundred metres wide and all the trees, stones and even animals that was near fell in there. But Shun stood in the air as if he had an invisible flat platform under his feet. Then walked to the ground stepping on invisible stairs.


    -       Stop ruining the forest!


    Exclaimed Shun.


    Shun searched for another trap. When he found it Shun ran towards the trap and when it activated, his body was covered with flames. But the flames was simply dispelled.


    -       So she¡¯s indeed three element magician!


    Shun originally assumed that she might be three-element magician because she had three different types of jewelry. But they as well could be a decorations or just one-time use items.


    There existed items that were charged with some magic and they could be used only once. After that they either should filled with magic again or thrown out. They were rare but Shun ran into them couple of times in the past.


    The woman heard his voice. ¡°I knew that my traps were futile against that creature¡±, thought she in panic. She had never expected that her journey would have ended like this.


    As she ran out of ingredients to healing potions, she went to a small trip into the forest in order to collect it. When she was returning as soon as she entered the territory that she marked with her magic, preventing other people from finding her house, she realized that the magic was gone. ¡°Somebody intruded¡­¡±.


    She was a capable magician. Her master told her that her talent was rivalling even the grand magician Obadiah. Also she had an ability to create her own magic. It was extremely rare talent and in the history it appeared only 5 or 6 times.


    Her master wanted to make her enroll into the academy but she did not want to work under the king. All the unofficial magicians are usually caught by the kingdom forces because due to chance of going on rampage so there was a need in monitoring them. But she decided to stay here and invented a special protective spell, which prevented from locating her house and its surroundings.


    As soon as she realized that her spell was gone, she rushed towards the entrance. Her skills in magic were incredibly high at that time and using just one element she could defeat any high-level magician. But she had abilities in three elements and for her the only threat would be skilled supreme level magicians or even ancient level.


    Her spell could not be broken by sheer power. It was impossible to break it if you did not know about the existence of that spell and it''s magic seals around. Even the grand magician Obadiah could not do it, who was considered the ancient level magician and the strongest in the kingdom.


    Meanwhile Shun was searching  for other traps but did not found any.


    -       If you are done then here I come.


    Shouted Shun and disappeared.


    ¡°What is he planning¡­¡±, woman¡¯s thought was interrupted as suddenly the she felt as the was trapped into a invisible net. She was unable to move and her arms and legs were made spread in different direction. ¡°I¡¯ve been caught!¡±, though she. ¡°Such indecent pose¡­¡±.


    The pose preventing covering her body in case if her clothes suddenly was dissipated.


    In front of her Shun appeared. When he saw her body, his eyes opened wide.


    -       Oh my god! You have been hiding such delicious body under that cloak!


    He showed the cloak he collected while following her.


    The woman had well defined waist, big bust and wide hips. She was wearing black skin-tight breeches and a narrow v-neck, which was accentuating her waist. Seeing Shun was licking his lips and acting as he was planning to eat her, woman became frightened even more and fainted.


    -       Am I that ugly?


    Shun was slightly disappointed. He scratched his head. Seeing her fainted body, caught in the net, he created using special skill Shun decided to give her a little time to sleep. ¡°Well I guess I allow her to dream a little. But she had a really lecherous body hehehe¡±.


    When several hours passed, Shun made a loud wolf-like roar.  The profficiency in martial arts allowed to iminate nature''s creatures. The roar echoed through the forest.


    The woman opened her eyes. He saw Shun looking at her mischievously and tried to move back. She then realized and she was tied while she was unconscious. Her eyes were full of fear and she murmured.


    -       So I cannot escape my death...


    Shun scratched his head and said.


    -       What make you think that you gonna be killed? Do I look like a monster? Last time I looked on my reflection I was quite handsome.


    Shun gave thumbs-up. But the woman still had her frightened look.


    -       You have such voluptuous body so of course I won¡¯t kill you. It¡¯s not whether I would do it anyway if you haven¡¯t but in this case you have quite a good arguments hahaha.


    Shun laughed.


    -       But anyway. May hear your name? It was odd following a person whose name I did not even know...


    The woman looked suspiciously, but after she understood that she won¡¯t die right now, he relaxed a little.


    -       My name is Alice.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.-       Sweet...


    Said Shun with calm voice while smiling. As Alice saw him lustfully looking at her body she wanted to cover it but tied hands prevented from doing it. Seeing this Shun exhaled.


    -       Well...Tell me why were you escaping? It¡¯s not whether I was planning to attack you that time¡­


    Alice looked at Shun.


    -       You are Soul Devourer, ain¡¯t you?


    At the time when Warrior God went for a journey people worshipped dragons. But dragons were not hostile towards humans, they did not considered humans worthy of their attention at all. However there existed completely different beings who thought of humans as a food and they were hunting them.


    Those were the ancient demons that presumably were created by the nature just like dragons. Demons were hostile to any living creature, but dragons were strong enough to destroy them. Humans on the other side had no power to oppose them so they were constantly threatened by the demons.


    When the Warrior God arrived from his journey, he shared his knowledge with humans and the most talented people he took under his care, training personally. He formed a group with him as leader. People referenced them as ¡°Human order¡±. He led the crusade to get rid of demons.


    Wielding incredible power ¡°Human order¡± was able to destroy a lot of demons. And one day the humans became free from the demon threat.


    The demons, who were threatening the kingdom and the empire now and living on the other side of the Mountain Ranges, were not the same demons that Warrior God fought, because the descriptions of those demons, left by Warrior God''s students, were completely different from the current demons.  As the new demons resembled humans and other beings living on the continent like wolves and bears, some people suggested that these demons were created artificially by applying some kind of magic. But as there were not any documents found about such magic it was left as the assumption. But to distinguish the demons with whom Warrior God fought, people referred those demons as ¡°ancient".


    Demon who gave the ability of magic eyes was one of those demons. Just like the humans ancient demons had souls too and if they were killed, they could be revived using the special ritual. But ancient demons required great sacrifices to make such ritual successful so in the history there were only two attempts to revive the ancient demon.


    Among those demons existed one, with whom Warrior God fought many times. Warrior God defeated him multiple times but that demon had never been truly killed. Even after being killed that demon was able to revive by itself. That demon went into history as Soul Devourer.


    Every demon had one single soul. So after its death the soul would return to its origin. However Soul Devourer had an ability to consume other souls and replace with them his own. So once killed, Soul Devourer would lose just one of his souls. That soul would be free from Soul Devourer¡¯s control and return to the origin. Also unlike other demons, Soul Devourer did not have his own body. He entered bodies of other living beings, consumed their souls and used the body of living being as a host.


    One of Warrior God¡¯s students recorded that Soul Devourer often attacked their group, ¡°as he was following them¡±  and the Warrior God dealt with him every time. However one day Warrior God left to the fight with Soul Devourer and never returned. Also nobody had met Soul Devourer after that. Some people believed that Warrior God defeated Soul Devourer and was able to ascend to the higher realm. Other believed that he put Soul Devourer inside himself and sealed his own body somewhere preventing Soul Devourer¡¯s return.


    As the magic eyes gave the ability to see person¡¯s soul, when Alice activated that skill, she saw multiple souls inside Shun. She came to the conclusion that Shun was the incarnation of that demon. But there was no one capable enough to defeat him this time.


    Shun was staring at Alice. Alice did not know what he was thinking. The Shun burst into tears.


    -       Not again!


    He was crying out loud. But it was difficult to tell whether he was acting or sincerely upset. ¡°Wha¡­¡±, Alice¡¯s thoughts were in pure mess. She expected either have her soul devoured or just plainly killed, but not that the guy would start crying.


    -       Last time I met the Magic Eyes bearer, she was trying to kill me from the very beginning! But at that time I did not have my katana and I had to deal with her magic myself. It was so hard!


    Alice had a puzzled look but continue listening his story since he could not run away due to being tied.


    -       She was claiming that the devil must be purified, casted a lot of spells and even destroyed half of the forest with her actions. I was so tired!


    Seeing that Alice was listening him Shun chuckled and continued.


    -       I bravely fought with her until she ran out of magic. It lasted for several days and all that days I had been evading all that she was throwing at me. In the end she started to cry just like you claiming that she do not want to die¡­.Ah! How difficult to live in that cruel world...


    Shun looked up to the sky. Alice looked up there too. Then she felt that somebody was touching her boobs.


    -       Though her bust was smaller. This one is much more satisfying¡­


    -       Hey!


    Alice wanted to slap Shun but with tied hands he was just to rotate on another side.


    -       Ok ok. Well I am NOT Soul Devourer. Though we have some similarities.


    -       I see...


    "I don''t believe you", Alice used her eyes on Shun again and saw only one soul. ¡°Did he hide it?¡±


    -       Well, anyway. Knowing that you are a magician I propose you to join my team - me and that guy who was left in your house. His name is Kenta though.


    -       What?


    -       Join my team! With me - the swordsman, Kenta - the martial artist and you - the magician, we¡¯ll become the legendary team! I have great plans and I want us to bring them to life!


    -       But why...me?


    -       Oh c¡¯mon! You are three elements magician...Moreover have the magic eyes! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to find such gem in many generations...


    ¡°Sound suspicious¡±, thought Alice.


    -       Also you voluptuous body is quite tempting so I cannot simply leave you alone hohoho


    -       Eh...


    ¡°Pervert!¡±, Alice blushed. His behaviour was unexpected for Alice and she did not know what to think of it.


    -       But what are you in the end? If you are not that demon then who?


    Shun looked in her eyes. Alice instinctively glanced at his hands, checking whether he want to paw her over again.


    -       If you wanna know - you should join me.


    ¡°Tempting¡­¡±, Alice enjoyed reading history books as she wanted to know the whole history of the world. She  had a big library in her house. Also she wanted to visit the Great Library in the capital, but as a single magician she could not do it.


    -       But magicians are not allowed to move freely.


    -       Oh! That is not the problem. You¡¯ll see.


    -       Okay...You won. I will join you.


    -       Great!


    Then Shun lifted up Alice in a bridal carry position.


    -       Wha-what are you doing? Just untie me!


    -       I cannot leave that softeness...


    -       Pervert! I-I have changed my mind.


    -       Nope.


    Then Shun started running towards the house carrying Alice.

 Chapter 9. The plan

    Shun was running while keeping Alice in his hands. He was running not very fast in order to  make Alice¡¯s ¡°travel¡± as comfortable as possible. Also this allowed to have a conversation.


    -       By the way, S-Shun. How did you break my spell?


    Asked Alice. He was certain in her defensive spell so it looked odd that Shun was able to break it easily. Shun looked in her eyes.


    -       For the martial artist there is no problem breaking a magic spell...After all, everything that affects the environment the martial artist is able to sense. Then the only thing left then is to apply some power in order to make the nature revert all the changes.


    While telling it, he was looking in her eyes. Alice wanted to avert her gaze but she was surprised that Shun was able to move while not looking in front of him at all. But at the same time she deeply impressed by the information Shun provided. ¡°Martial Arts are too strong¡­¡±


    -       And every martial artist is able to do it?


    If it were true then it meant that her spell was useless.


    -       Well...Not really. It requires a high-level proficiency in the martial arts. Though there still a chance that some unknown hermit will be able to find your place.


    -       I see...Maybe you know some way to prevent that?


    The idea of leaving her house defenseless made her worry.


    -       Don¡¯t bother. High-level martial artist would not care about breaking into someone¡¯s house...


    -       But you did it!


    Alice was angry at Shun. Despite chatting with him, she held a grudge against him due to his brusque intrusion.


    -       I am a special case!


    Said Shun and smiled. ¡°Could it be that he did it on purpose?¡± sudden thought appeared in Alice¡¯s mind.


    ----


    Inside Alice¡¯s house, Kenta was sitting in chair, waiting for Shun¡¯s return.


    -       I wonder how Shun is going to catch her...But his speed was incredible! I should ask him teach me that.


    Muttered Kenta. In his heart, he was amazed by Shun. ¡°His items, his knowledge, his skills¡­Who gave him that? The teacher he mentioned - could it be him? If his student knew that much, how great would be the teacher?¡± Kenta¡¯s head was filled with such thoughts.


    Recently he heard a roar. It was similar to wolf¡¯s roar but it was too loud as it was a pack of wolves crying at the same time.


    -       What was that...It came from the direction where Shun ran...Well, whatever.


    Kenta¡¯s heart did not worry about Shun. Shun was much stronger than Kenta and even hundreds of wolves would not be able to do something to Shun.


    The Kenta looked towards the direction when Shun ran and saw Shun running back with Alice in his hands. ¡°Well I guess everything was resolved...Wait. Why is that woman tied?¡±


    Shun entered the house. He put Alice on the sofa.


    -          Untie me already!


    Exclaimed Alice. She did not want to be defenseless in front of two men. Shun looked at surprised Kenta and then told Alice.


    -          Don¡¯t be afraid! Kenta is the fan of the princess. And I am a gentlemen.


    ¡°You expect me to believe that?¡± thought Alice. As reading her thoughts, Shun nodded. Then he untied Alice and she instantly moved to another chair, looking at Shun suspiciously.  Shun shook his head.


    -          Okay. Let me introduce again. My name is Shun. I am just a traveler. This is Kenta.


    Shun pointed his hand to Kenta.


    -          He is a traveler too.


    Then directed his hand to Alice. ¡°Cannot be helped¡­¡±


    -          My name is Alice and I am living here.


    -          Amazing!


    Exclaimed Shun. His cry surprised Kenta, while Alice did not understand whether Shun was mocking her or not.


    -          Okay, let¡¯s get to point. Kenta, this is our new teammate. She is a magician, so now we have a complete set of specialists. Hahaha.


    Kenta looked at Alice and then at Shun. Seeing Alice not opposing Shun¡¯s statement, he came to conclusion that Shun somehow convinced her to join. ¡°I wonder what is behind that....¡±


    Shun then moved towards the free chair.  Alice was sitting in front of him in the chair on the left and Kenta was on the right.


    -          I am sure you wondering what I am planning. As now as we are all here, I am going to tell you.


    ¡°Finally!¡± rejoiced Kenta. He wanted to understand why Shun granted him with the martial arts ability. Alice on the other side, wanted to know what was hiding behind Shun¡¯s actions.


    -          What do you know about the Western Empire?


    Asked Shun sudden question. The topic surprised Alice and Kenta.


    -          Erm...I know that it is stronger than the kingdom.


    Said Kenta. He came from the small village and his knowledge was lacking. Also access to the royal library had only those who was studying in the academy. So common folks could not know a lot.


    -          The Sky Empire was built on the remnants of the Forgotten Empire. They even claim that they are continuing Forgotten Empire¡¯s legacy. Sky Empire has a huge military power with a lot of magicians, swordsmen and martial artists. The emperor is believed to be a descendant of the rulers of the Forgotten Empire.


    -          Sky Empire?


    He heard the term for the first time as everybody around had been referencing the country as the Western Empire.


    -       It¡¯s the real name of the Western Empire. But it¡¯s rarely mentioned in the books. Anyway, the most interesting thing is that Sky Empire has a sacred sword, which according to the rumors can grant a power to a person if the person is cut by it. So that sword is not the same artifact as the kingdom hero¡¯s relics, which are simple the equipment the hero used.


    Told Alice. ¡°The power granting sword...It seems I know one.¡± thought Kenta and looked at Shun¡¯s sword.


    -       As expected from the person who reads a lot.


    Nodded Shun and glanced at Alice¡¯s bust. Alice covered it with her hands.  Shun continued.


    -       Indeed. That is just a common information. What are you actually know about the Battle Festival?


    -       Battle Festival?


    Kenta never heard about it.


    -       It is tournament which being held every 50 years where strong people fight each other in order to get the gift from the emperor. No one know what the gift is. Even the books do not have the details about it. But it seems a lot of people are trying hard in order to acquire it.


    Said Alice. Shun stood up.


    -       Exactly! But to be more specific the tournament requires to create a team consisting of three contestants...A martial artist, a magician and a swordsman.


    Now Kenta realized.


    -       So that is why you made Alice join us?


    -       Yup! We¡¯ll participate in the tournament as the kingdom¡¯s representatives.


    -       But kingdom never participated in the tournament!


    Objected Alice. She had never saw information about it.


    -       That is wrong. The kingdom participated, but it  was utterly obliterated in the first rounds many hundred years ago. Also that is the reason why the kingdom did not spread the information about that. It¡¯s common knowledge that the power difference between kingdom and empire is huge. But this fact would make a lot of people afraid of the empire, so the kingdom preferred to spread the story about the hero who defeated empire¡¯s forces.


    ¡°So the empire is indeed strong¡±. Kenta heard many stories about empire¡¯s military power. Some of them felt as the fantasy. But Kenta now was wondering, what was Shun planning to do in order to join the Battle Festival.


    -       But how we can become representatives? I doubt the kingdom would like to see a defeat again...


    -       You, Alice and I will participate in martial arts, swordsman and magician tournaments and come up as the winners by a high margin. Then I ask the king to send us to the tournament! After all, the princess told me that I acquired the right to have an audience with the king.


    ¡°That plan is crazy!¡± thought Kenta. ¡°I¡¯ve just gained the ability to use martial arts and Shun is already planning to participate in the tournament with the most skillful martial artists on the continent!¡±


    Looking at the confused face of Alice and Kenta¡¯s shocked expression, Shun was slightly disappointed. ¡°Hm...I thought they would display more excitement¡­¡± Then Shun heard Alice¡¯s voice.


    -       S-Shun...But will we be able to pass even preliminary rounds? Because winning the tournament here and participating in the empire¡¯s festival are the complete different matters.


    -       Yes, Shun. I mean compete against the pillars of the martial arts world of the kingdom is one thing, but the other is to compete against the continent¡¯s best martial artists.


    Said Kenta. ¡°As the tournament requires three contestants, maybe Shun is planning to use us just as a support?¡± that was the only explanation Kenta could come up with.


    -       So that is why...I see, I see.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Sad Shun. Then he smirked and gave thumb-up.


    -       As the most knowledgeable person, I¡¯ll be your personal trainer for the next two weeks. During that time...


    Shun turned to Kenta.


    -       I¡¯ll transform you into a capable martial artist, who will be able to be on par with the strongest Sword Saint of the kingdom! Though you may lack experience but before the festival we will be able to resolve it somehow.


    ¡°Wow! Just in two weeks I¡¯ll be able to rival Sword Saint! His plan is insane¡±, thought Kenta.


    Then Shun turned to Alice.


    -       About you...You have the talent and the skills. What you lack is the power.


    -       How you...


    -       I was able to get it, when I tested you traps. They lacked the power, because if it could be possible, you would made it much stronger.


    Shun exhaled and continued.


    -       Your amount of mana is simply not enough to create truly strong high or supreme level spells. You can defeat several high level magicians and even can fight the supreme magicians but mana handicap prevents from truly reaching the realm of a supreme magician in the end.


    Alice¡¯s eyes opened wide. She was considered talented by the normal people¡¯s standards. Three elements spell caster, spell creation and even the magic eyes. Everything was exceptional. But her lack of mana was not enough to become truly strong.


    Her teacher said once


    -       The heavens gave you the tools of the exceptional quality, but they crippled your hands.


    Therefore, Alice put all her efforts into developing the ability to use the magic effectively and expand her magic knowledge. Alice remembered teacher¡¯s words, so she dedicated herself to reading the books and creating new spells in order to use everything she had as full as possible. However, somewhere inside her heart, she wanted to break that limit of her and reach the peak of her magic abilities.


    Shun put his hand on Alice¡¯s shoulder and said.


    -       You¡¯ll be able to acquire the power and break the chains that the nature gave you.


    Alice heart started to beat faster as she never expected that Shun said something she had been always wanted to hear.


    -       At the time of entering the Battle Festival your power will rival Obadiah.


    Shun nodded and then made a several steps back. He sat in the chair and continued.


    -       Winning in the kingdom¡¯s tournaments will be the exam of yours. If you fail, then we¡¯ll have to wait for the another Battle Festival.


    Laughed Shun. His eyes were sparkling.


    -       But if everything will go according to my plan before the Battle Festival we¡¯ll go on special training to polish your skills...I¡¯ll tell you about it when the time comes.


    Alice and Kenta exchanged glances.


    ----


    Serpentia.


    The king was sitting in his room. Suddenly somebody knocked the door and the king told to enter.


    -       Sir, did you called?


    Asked a young man in a golden armor who just entered. He kept in his hands a helmet with a hawk sign.


    -       Leyten...Yes I called you.


    Said MakKonnell. He asked Reiren Castello to call for Leyten as soon as he arrived and he did it.


    -       The leader of Elite Soldiers told me that you wanted to ask something about the person Elizabeth and I met in the Mirani town.


    ¡°It seems Reiren did more that I asked for. ¡°, thought the king. He originally wanted to ask himself the necessary question but seeing Leyten ready to tell him about Shun, the king gave up.


    -       Tell me, all that you know about the person Shun.


    Leyten nodded and started his speech.


    -       Well...He was quite an interesting person. Originally I thought he was a swordsman but he has a student whom he is teaching the martial arts! Moreover, he is the same age as me.


    Said Leyten. His voice was full of admiration towards Shun. ¡°Interesting. He is 20 or 19 and teaches somebody martial arts. Truly admirable¡±, thought MakKonell. ¡°And if he appearead to be the swordsman then he might be a perfect candidate for the Sword Saint title. I need to ask Jin(1st Sword saint) to test him personally if possible. If his skills are indeed that great then he might even get a position of the Sword Saint leader instead of Leyten¡±. The king did not want to write off Leyten, but if Shun was more experienced than Leyten he would prefer Shun instead of Leyten. ¡°Though the question of loyalty remains...¡±


    The Sword Saints had the obligations towards kingdom. Their main purpose was to defend the kingdom when it was in danger. ¡°If Shun prefers to wander then there is nothing I can do...¡± MakKonell did not want to make an enemy of Shun.


    Leyten continued.


    -       Overall he felt like a good person. He was not angry when nobody came to help him and did not make any trouble at all. Also he did not want to be transported in the carriage.


    ¡°Well...I too in the past liked to travel by foot. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to get along with Shun¡±.


    -       Also I forgot. His student¡¯s name was Kenta and Shun said that Kenta was going to participate in the Martial Arts tournament in Ivelen!


    ¡°Ho...I should send somebody to observe the tournament and gather information about his student. By the student we will be able to judge Shun¡¯s ability¡±.


    The martial arts were tough in learning and most of the artists did not have a teacher. The only known martial arts teacher was the great monk of the Sage Mountain.


    When Leyten finished talking, the king thanked him and asked to call the princess.


    Elizabeth entered the room.


    -       Father, did you call me? Do you want to ask something?


    -       Yes. How are feeling?


    -       I am fine but I doubt you wanted to ask that...


    ¡°Of course I am interested in my daughter¡¯s well-being.¡±, muttered the king.


    -       I want to ask you about Shun.


    Said the king. Elizabeth¡¯s eyes opened wide.


    -       Him¡­


    ¡°Hm...Her reaction is odd¡±, thought MakKonell.


    -       Tell me, Elizabeth. What did you [see]?


    Elizabeth had a rare talent. There were many descendants of the first Magic Eyes bearer. During the centuries, the power of the eyes was weakening and sometimes even mutated, providing the bearer of the Magic Eyes with the abilities that even the original owner did not have.


    Elizabeth had such mutated ability in her eyes. She was able to sense the human''s emotions and oddly enough always was able to find the needed words to say in order to gain the favor of that person. It was something similar to reading the soul. This ability allowed her to control the flow of the conversation with any person. It was a very useful ability in the world of politics.


    She saw every person as cloud with different color. If the person was angry the color was red, if the person was happy the color was yellow, if the person had some bad intentions he would have a black color.


    -       I saw...Nothing.


    Said Elizabeth. The king froze for a moment. He never heard such words from Elizabeth before.


    -       What do you mean by that?


    -       You know, father, I see every person¡¯s emotions. Yours, Leyten¡¯s and other people¡¯s around. But that person...He was completely blank. For example, his student Kenta had a yellow color. Shun had no color at all. I saw him only him as a person only.


    -       What...


    King stood up. ¡°No emotions? Impossible!¡± Elizabeth was able to sense the emotions of every living being. Even animals. Having no emotions meant that the person was not a living being at all. King felt that Elizabeth wanted to tell something more. She opened her mouth and told.


    -       I sensed nothing from that person...But he was giving the same feeling as my teacher and sir Jin Yakoi. I wanted to ask my teacher about that.


    ¡°Obadiah? Jin?¡± Obadiah lived for the several centuries and his knowledge in magic and the world was second to none. ¡°With a high possibility he might know something¡­¡± Jin was the most experienced Sword Saint. He went through many battles and lived for two centuries too. He even visited the empire. Jin was the second oldest person in the kingdom after Obadiah. However, for the grant royal magician Jin was nothing more than a child.


    King understood that he should vary of Shun. ¡°He might be the person who could be at the same level as Obadiah and Jin...It is possible that he lived much longer than just 20 years¡±


    -       I see. I am planning to go and ask Obadiah now. Do you want to go with me?


    -       Oh? No. I ask him during the lessons.


    -       Okay. Thank you for the information, Elizabeth.


    -       Oh! Also I said that he should visit you, when he will arrive to Serpentia.


    -       Good. Thank you.


    ELizabeth bowed and left. King stood up and went towards the window.


    -       We should definitely befriend Shun...