《49 and one hero.》
Chapter 1: Generic Arrival
Bright light, the feeling of falling from a great height. My ears were popping. I hold my nose and blow air out of it to even out the pressure. I wasn''t scared. Somehow I was actually kind of happy. The light had all kinds of color in it, swirling around me in a giant circle at least 20 meter wide.
Then there was no light anymore and I landed on cold stone. I got up and checked my surroundings.
Apparently I was not the only one who had the same experience. There were quite a lot of us.
But I remember that I was alone before arriving here, before the light took me away from where ever I had been before, so they must be from other places.
They were all rather young¡ªyounger than me at least. From what I can tell the youngest was around 10 years old while the oldest was just close to 20. I am 28 so I was clearly the oldest here.
We are in some round stone building without a roof, by that I mean the roof looks to have been blown away at some point. The moon is shining above us and the sky is filled with millions of dazzling stars.
Stars, which got me realizing that I could see a lot more of them than normal. I touch my face and notice I don''t have my glasses on. I also notice I don¡¯t need them. Strange, but I guess you shouldn''t question good things coming your way. While enjoying my perfect eyesight for the first time of my life I take a better look at the crowd around me.
There are people from all over the world. European, African, Asian, Russian etc. so I guess the, shall we call it a summoning, happened all over the world at the same time. After a quick estimation I figure there are about 50 of us.
"What happened?"
"Where am I?"
¡±Who are you!? Did you do this?¡±
"Mommy!? Where did you go?"
¡±What is going on?¡±
"I was making dinner and then...?"
"Why... why did this happen!?"
¡±I was walking my dog when...¡±
A lot of confusion was spread around us.
I guess no one that was summoned know where we are or how we got here.
Not that it matters, we will most likely be told what¡¯s going on soon.
...And just as I had guessed.
"Everyone please quiet down and listen to me for a moment, I can explain everything!" An old man¡¯s voice shouts out from a massive door behind me. Or maybe it¡¯s better to just call it an opening in the wall, rather than a door. It would seem that we were all "summoned" inside of a ruined building of sort.
The man was wearing a royal blue robe with a thick golden lining and big golden buttons. The robe looked too big for him and covered his entire body from the neck to toe. It had a hood, that was as wide as his shoulders, hiding his face and a wide collar that hid his mouth so all you could see was his pointy nose and a hint of a silver mustache.
I am guessing this was the mage that summoned us, but that is purely speculation with no real proof. Hell for all I know i could be high as a kite and be dreaming all of this stuff up. Might as well roll with it right?
"First of all I would like to apologize! You were all taken from your world and summoned to this one by us on the orders of our king. We are very sorry about this and hope that, after listening to our explanation and realizing the problems we are facing that you can somehow forgive us."
The man who was speaking was sounding rather tired. As if he had endured a lot in order to summon us here. Of course I wasn''t na?ve enough to think that any explanation he would give would justify taking us from our homes just like that. They, for I assume from his words that he didn¡¯t do it himself, had basically just kidnapped us for their own purposes. If I remember correctly we would most likely be fighting demons or something like that to "save" their race or country. I have read stories about this kind of thing and there is always an evil vs. good, kind of feeling in the beginning. However in the end it might be the reverse.
¡±What! You did this!¡±
¡±Send us back! I was waiting for someone!¡±
¡±Mommy will scold me if i don¡¯t get home on time and i was already late...¡±
¡±Who are you!? Why are you doing this?¡±
¡±Explain it properly!¡±
Naturally there were a lot of complaints. The youngest were insecure and scared. The teenagers were cocky and demanding. The young adults wanted information and demanded to be returned.
I found a stone, former belonging to one of the upper walls I imagine, and sat down. In times like these it¡¯s better to just wait and let others bicker and worry. Too much stress can give you cancer you know...
¡±Settle down! Please just listen to me...¡± The poor old man was trying to get their attention and get them to shut up, unfortunately teenagers are hard to quiet down and some of these guys are the aggressive kind.
¡±You, asshole! Tell me what the fuck is going on already!¡± One tall Asian teenage boy with a black and blue Mohawk grabs the old man and pulls him to his face.
At this action there was a light and suddenly everyone is pushed away from the hooded person. I was, luckily far enough away that all i felt was a strong wind. Most fell on their butts and the boy who had threatened the old man actually flew for a few meters and landed on some of the others.
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Silence filled the air finally and the old man had our undivided attention.
¡±Now then, finally, as i was saying, let me explain everything. I am ****** ******* the court mage and...¡± His name was hard to remember to I¡¯ll just call him the Court Mage.
He starts to explain and, like I predicted, we were here to ¡°help¡± them.
Apparently to summon us they used an ancient and forbidden ritual of some sort. It involved taking the female blood of the royal line in sacrifice in order to summon a hero that could lead the people. But the king didn¡¯t want to sacrifice his wife or daughter so they used 50 of their strongest mages to alter the summoning. Sacrificing quality for quantity basically.
Originally the hero that was summoned was the strongest and most charismatic person from another world. Someone was a natural leader and had high battle prowess. But now they gained a bunch of random people who knew nothing.
The reason why this was okay was because of some alteration that occurred during the summoning process or maybe it was just that this world was so different than the one we came from. He was rather unclear on this point.
He then went on to explain their situation. How the prophets, who were of course never wrong, spoke of the coming doom of all humans. An ocean of monsters and demons would pour out of the forsaken lands to the north and to the south and they would swallow everything in-between leaving nothing but dust in their wake.
Seeing no way out the merciful and benevolent and just and kind king of theirs decided to spare the people the loss of their queen and/or princess. Instead sacrifice the lives and souls of 50 of their best mages rather than use them in the battle that would, most likely, possibly happen in the coming future.
It was a bunch of bullshit. Nonsense. His speech was full emotion and conviction but his words reeked of lies and hidden agendas. Well it¡¯s always like that, isn''t it?
For all I know they summoned us here to start that ¡°dark sea of demons¡± ourselves. Besides why would a bunch of demons want to destroy all humans (or was it all living things?) in the land in the first place? What had the humans done to them to make them want to do this back? Maybe the demonic calamity that he mentioned started because the demons felt threatened when the humans summoned a bunch of "heroes.¡±
The crowd around me apparently didn''t have the same thoughts as I had. After he confirmed that we would be sent back after the "Demonic Calamity" they readily started to accept it and talk of how they would be able to help came around.
He explained that the "heroes" who were summoned would have superior talents and abilities then a normal person. Things like high affinity with magic and superior body strength. We also were supposed to learn things faster and grow quicker than normal people. Basically we had an unfair advantage compared to the "normal people.¡±
I wonder if by us ¡°growing quicker¡± he means that we will have a shorter lifespan too?
After finishing his speech he once more asked if "we", the honorable and just heroes, would lend "them", the poor and soon to be wiped out people, our power. Most readily accepted while I said nothing.
What would they do if we all said no? Would we become slaves and forced into fighting for them? Probably something like that. Better to keep quiet, for now. Besides if they wanted us to fight then they have to teach us how to use weapons and magic and stuff right? And I really want to learn that stuff.
So I''ll keep quiet and learn what I can, until they request something unreasonable. But I refuse to take part in some war that has nothing to do with me. Even if they say they can send us back there is no proof. And besides, I might not want to return. It depends on how much I like this world, where magic exists.
And it does exist. There is no doubt. Not only was we transported from where we were, according to him, He is also a mage and as such he can use magic like what he did just a moment ago. And we all have good ¡°Affinity¡± with magic. Which I guess that means that we will be naturally good at it. I realize it¡¯s all based on his words but all we can do for now is listen.
Besides i would love to learn magic and swords and stuff like that...
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Chapter 2: Meet and greet with the king.
We were finally led outside of the ruined building, out into the broken sunlight under a sky filled with clouds. Rays of sunlight, as if descended from the very heavens, lit up the lush green valley filled with life. There was everything here. An old forest filled with wildlife and big old trees and a mountain cliff with a number of fantastic waterfalls that formed a double rainbow as the rays of the sun was reflected in the drops of water that filled the air. The water from the mountains filled a lake with blue water. In the middle of this paradise of life, raised on a hill to look over the wonderful surroundings, was a city.
Rather than a blemish of this paradise-like environment, the city complimented it. It was filled with towering structures made from marble, polished to a reflecting surface. The city drew our eyes more than the waterfall or the forest or the flower covered grassland. A city for gods...
¡±Wow...¡±
¡±...Beautiful¡±
We were all awestruck at the view.
¡±Welcome to the land of Fili¨¦n and the city of Nadina! Home to the royal family and the tower of mages, blessed by the elements and the very gods themselves.¡± The Court mage beams with pride as he welcomes us to his country and hometown.
It is really beautiful, even though i have doubts about this whole thing and i don¡¯t trust anyone here, I can¡¯t help but admire the view with an unbiased mind.
¡±Now we will head to the palace so you can meet with his majesty. Oh and please don¡¯t mind the guards. They are here simply to protect you should a crowd hinder us when we enter the city. You are all Heroes and we are all curious about you.¡±
As he mentions this we finally notice the 20 heavily armed men that stand in a tight formation by the cobble stone road that lead down towards the city. They are clad in full plate armor and their helmets hide their faces. They are armed with giant two handed swords that have to be at an angle so as to not scrape the ground.
¡±Cool!¡± Some of the guys exclaim. I hold myself back, since i was sort of expecting this.
As I take a closer look at the soldiers they all seem to have been on high alert and only when hearing the words of the Court mage did they relax a little. It would seem that my guess was correct, had we all refused we would have one way or another been forced into service, maybe we would have been killed right then and there. The Court mage said that they would protect us but they have no shields. Their weapons are obviously made for offense and not defense. So unless they believe that they¡¯ll have to cut a bloody path through the supposed crowds, then they were here to ¡±take care of us¡±, should it be necessary. But the others didn¡¯t think that. They were busy admiring the soldier¡¯s cool looking armor and bad ass swords. Some were looking at the scenery.
The Court mage let them fool around for a bit and then gathered us up and after the soldiers surrounded us we headed towards the city. It wasn¡¯t far, barely 30 minutes to reach the gate, however most of us were really out of shape and got worn out. I was of course one of them.
Haa, haa, damn it i really need to work out more! This is ridiculous.
I get disapproving glances from the soldiers that have to lag behind the rest with me.
I can¡¯t help it! I haven¡¯t really been outside much in years!
I sigh deeply. Let¡¯s look on the bright side, maybe they will leave me in peace if they think I am too weak to bother with. As I sneak another peak at one of the soldier¡¯s swords I quickly change my mind. They will probably just cut their losses instead. I quicken my pace a little and try to catch up to the others.
As we arrive at the city gates we find them wide open and the streets are lined with people and children who all want to take a look at the heroes that will save them all. It¡¯s really embarrassing and I do my best to hide away in the back. I am a bit shy in front of a crowd.
There is a wide straight road all the way to the palace and we¡¯re on parade for all to see. The soldiers keep the crowd from getting too close and the court mage leads the way while happily telling us about the city.
Some of us are embracing the moment, their dreams of being celebrities coming true. The crowd cheers as they smile and wave and take it in a stride.
Others slow down and blush, wanting nothing more than to hide away from all the watching eyes.
There are even some who hide their insecurities with anger and acting cocky... Or maybe they really just are like that.
Flowers are thrown into the street.
¡±The heroes are here!¡±
¡±Kill the demons!¡±
¡±We are safe! The mages succeeded!¡±
My mind is blank and i just keep on walking while avoiding eye contact. I never knew how scary it is to be the center of attention in a crowd like this.
We eventually make it to the castle, where we are greeted by some nobles, servants and more soldiers, before we are lead to the audience chamber to finally meet the Royal family.
Now i neglect to mention how the castle looks like and the layout of the city and the people¡¯s clothes etc. This is because at the time i really didn¡¯t think about it. I was occupied with trying to be unnoticed. I did not even react when several nobles tried to shake my hand and just walked on by. I¡¯m sure that caused some discomfort. Seriously i was scared shitless.
We stop in the hall before the meeting with the king and the court mage explains to us some simple rules. They were easy things like: Don¡¯t speak unless spoken to. Don¡¯t approach the steps up to the throne. Mind your manners. Basic stuff.
We don¡¯t have to bow and scrape nor do we have to think about how to address people yet. We will be taught such things in along with proper etiquette at a later time.
Since this is an important moment, it¡¯s not every day you get to meet royalty, I take a few deep breaths and do my best to calm down and get my head back together.
The other heroes start to whisper among themselves. Some have already made friends apparently. Young people are good at that after all.
¡±I-I¡¯m actually going to meet a King!¡±
¡±I wonder if there is a prince...¡±
¡±Bet you would love to marry a rich, handsome prince¡±
¡±Shut up...! I¡¯m way too young to think about such things...¡±
¡±I bet people here marry young.¡±
The girls talk was like that and the guys weren¡¯t much better.
¡±Hey didn¡¯t he say something about there being a princess?¡±
¡±Yea the king didn¡¯t want to sacrifice her so he made the mages do it instead.¡±
¡±Bet she¡¯s a looker, right?¡±
¡±She is a princess so she is probably spoiled rotten. Bet she is fat as fuck!¡±
¡±Wonder if you could get your hands on her... Marrying a princess would make you the next king, right?¡±
¡±King!? You? Pff, in your dream man!¡±
Annoying kids, can¡¯t they just keep their thoughts to themselves?... Would be nice if the princess and queen were good looking though. How sad would it not be if the 50 mages sacrificed themselves for an ugly princess?
The audience chamber where we are finally received by the king is filled with marble and gold and lined with knights in shining armor that stands in attending, holding their swords with both hands in front of them with the tip on the floor. I wonder who came up with the idea of all knights and soldiers using giant swords and nothing else. How would they protect the king without shields? It makes no sense at all. Also they line the walls but there is none in range to actually protect the king should one of us just rush him... Are they all idiots or maybe i am missing something...
The King sits on a classic golden throne and to his left sits his wife the queen and to her left sits the princess. The King is clad in a golden armor and a red cape lined with white fur. On his head is a spiky crown that sort of mimics the castle from outside the walls. He is a rather old man, a lot thinner than i expected the king to be. He has a long thin beard reaching down to his chest. Not really regal at all.
The Queen and the princess are like mirror images of each other. Both rather pretty and clad in way too much fabric for this weather. They are fanning themselves profusely with feathered silver fans. I can¡¯t speak for their looks, since i was in the back, but they sure had a ridiculous hair. Both of them look, well, rather silly. Their hair arrangement puts an emphasis on volume. It reminds me of some overly serious fashion shows i have seen on TV. Just thinking about the amount of hairspray they must have...
No wait, they don¡¯t have hairspray do they? Then what did they use to hold it up like that? Some sort of glue? Yuck...
"Welcome heroes from another world!" The king greets us with a hoarse voice. The court mage bows and walks to take his place at the king¡¯s side.
"Please be at ease, there is no need for formalities. We have caused you a lot of inconvenience, and we apologies." The king quickly speaks and dispels the awkward atmosphere.
What the hell is with the "inconvenience" he''s speaking of? Is that all he think of forcing us from our world at a random time and forcing us to go to war? Pisses me off!
I quickly realize that i do not like the king.
He goes on to talk about his country and his people. About things like the different races and where they stand in relation to each other. There are apparently a lot of different races. Like the classic Elves and Dwarves. Gnomes and Fairies. Goblins and Orcs. Beastmen and Mermaids etc.
From there he starts to talk about the monsters that inhabit the world, making it a dangerous place. And of course he mentions the existence of magic. Though we know nothing about it he assures us their best teachers will show us all they can, at a later time. Then he starts to talk about the beautiful god of good who can do no wrong and is always right and always on their side protecting them from anything that can harm them... I frankly hate religious bullshit and ignored most of it.
Then finally he starts to talk about why we are here. The coming war. How his people have been weakened and are in desperate need of hope. He really never said anything about how they had become weakened or why they need hope but he is still rather convincing and dances around the subject like a pro. The only real reason i noticed it was because a lot of what he said pissed me off and i started looking for faults in everything he said. In the end he asks us, very movingly and with tears in his eyes, to help his people.
One of the older girls steps forward.
Will she finally tell him about how much bullshit this all is?
¡±Of course we will help!¡±
...so she says...
¡±It is our duty as fellow human beings to help each other.¡±
¡I guess she is just another idiot...
¡±As Heroes we swear to you to do everything in our power to help your people and defeat the coming monsters!¡±
What the hell!? Don¡¯t put words in my mouth bitch!
"We are humbled by your heroism." The queen quickly speaks up this time. "You will of course not go to battle unprepared, our finest knights will help train and prepare you. Our smiths and leather workers will create the finest weapons and armor for you. The best magic instructors will teach you everything they know. You will all be able to stay here in the castle where food and rooms will be provided. If you ever have a need of anything please, all you need is to ask and if it is within our power it shall be given."
So in exchange for us risking our lives we get to labor hard and study before being sent to war. Great. Also what is with promising anything? Should i try asking for something unreasonable to see if she is true to her word? Hehe¡
"Now you all must be tired and hungry. The servants will show you to your quarters, where your measurements will be taken so we can have new clothes and armor tailored for you. After that I invite you all to dine with us in the great hall."
And so we were all ushered out of the audience hall and shown the way to the east wing of the castle where we would be staying. Our rooms were rather big and lavish, filled with gold and expensive looking things. A single room was bigger than a 4 room apartment, though it didn¡¯t have a kitchen. And let¡¯s just not mention the "toilet". For cleaning our bodies all we got was a big pitcher of water, a cloth, some soap and a basin to pour the warm water in. There was apparently a bath in the castle but for now this would have to do. Can''t really have 50 unknown people just suddenly bathe together, and I don¡¯t think bathing suits or trunks is a thing here. We were not asked to share rooms but were allowed to if we wanted to. So I had a big room all for myself. We were asked to stay in our rooms until the tailor came and took out measurements.
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I opened the window and was greeted with a rather lovely view of the castle garden and the city beyond. I hadn''t thought about it but my room was rather high up, if I was judging it in normal apartment standards I guess it would have been at least 8th floor. But here the ceiling was so high it was probably just the third or at most the fourth floor. I had a little balcony as well, that I stayed away from, my fear of heights still present even in this world. As I looked around my room I found a tiny bookshelf on the mantle of a big fireplace. I took one down at random and flipped it open. The words weren¡¯t any I recognize but strongly I could still read it and understand it just fine. Magic is a wonderful thing isn''t it? I think to myself as I check the titles of the books.
The wandering of a colorful land, Five wishes, Story of a hero, Poems of a Goddess.
Rather boring all in all. The first was a guidebook to some other land. The second was five short stories, basically fables meant to teach children. The third was a regular hero story, where he goes and save the princess and get the kingdom etc. The last one was a bunch of poems written by an unknown person. I took the last one because I have no interest in the others, since the third one was too basic for my fantasy tastes. Poems have always been the way to gain favor of women, or something like that, so I might as well see what all the fuss is about. Well it wasn''t too much of a pain to read. Not that I remembered much of what I read but still, a decent way to pass the time until Mr. tailor knocks on my door. It took about an hour and a half before the soft knock called for my attention. I was glad that they didn¡¯t take longer as I was about to doze off, the book of poems already thrown to the side.
Turns out it was a Miss Tailor and, I being a man who had a little to no experience with the other sex, things got a little awkward. But thankfully she was used to it and quickly finished taking my measurements and then gave me some temporary clothes to wear for the rest of the day. Apparently my own clothes were not in "fashion". Haha wonder if they don¡¯t have jeans here.
As she finished I was told that dinner would be served in the ¡°Great Hall¡± within the hour, should it please me. Getting used to the overly polite servants will take a while. Feeling bored I left soon after the tailor and simply followed some other heroes to the ¡°Great Hall¡±. It was a really big room decorated with gold that had a lot of long tables and a heightened floor, like a stage, where the nobles ate.
As the newly arrived heroes we were of course given an honoree position among the royal family and the highest of nobles. Just getting to my seat, which was as far into the room as possible, was nerve wrecking. All the other diners stared and whispered. I felt like a show dog. I almost wondered if I would be judged based on how I walked and behaved. Maybe those that did well would get a bow as a price.
I finally managed to sit down and chose to focus on the food in an attempt to ignore the stares. The food served was rather luxurious. There was fine sliced meat, a pigs head with an apple in its mouth, freshly baked breads, several different sauces, some vegetables (used mostly for decoration), fruit bowls, pies with different fillings, smoked fish and a lot of dishes I had never seen before. I chose to go with what was safe and just took some meat and bread with a little sauce. All there was to drink was a disgusting wine. I have never really liked wine and this was really nasty in my opinion. Not wanting to be ¡°that guy¡± who always complained I kept quiet about the wine and had some more sauce instead. I have to say though, the meat was amazingly tasty.
Oh and just so you know they had no forks. Yea it was that kind of medieval thing. We just had knives and used bread to soak up the sauce. It was fun to try something new, even if there was the problem of trying to stay clean. Well some of the Asian people would rather just eat with sticks anyway so they don¡¯t really mind not having a fork.
While we are eating the king starts to introduce the people who will be training us. There was one instructor for every weapon type and for every elemental magic type. There were also trainers that would teach essential skills like how to lead troops and set up camps. Oh and let¡¯s not forget about the ethics teachers and geography teachers and the social teachers etc. etc. At first I was highly interested in what we would be able to learn but I soon gave up. Frankly there are too many to remember so I just ignored them and focused on eating my fill. I am terrible with names, and I figure I will eventually meet those that will teach me what I need to know. The only once I remembered was the court mage; who would be in charge of the magic classes. The knight commander; who would be in charge of the weapon and general warfare classes. And the royal armorer; who would outfit us with armor and weapons.
Among all the people we met all was humans except for the Armorer who was a dwarf. I don¡¯t mean the crippled kind from where I come from. No this was a REAL dwarf. He was about 120 cm tall and equally wide, with arms like logs and massive hands. He was just like the fantasy style dwarfs that I have read about time and time again. He even had the trademark beard that went down to his ankles, braided with metal rings and leather bands to keep it from being in the way. It was a stark contrast to his head which didn¡¯t have any hair on it at all. I have to say I was a little jealous¡
He was the only person I had yet to see who was not human. I entertained myself by wondering why for a bit.
Is it that the dwarfs are hiding away under some mountain and he was exiled to live on the ¡°surface¡± like the dwarfs from that game? Maybe he was taken from his homeland as a slave. Or is he indebted to the king and came to serve to pay him off? He doesn¡¯t look like he is treated with anything but respect. Of course dwarfs are famous for their metalworking, maybe he was just hired because he is good at his job. Working for a king is after all working for a king, a great honor in almost every culture.
While I wonder about the dwarf, the king keeps talking and introducing more and more people. Luckily I don¡¯t have to pay attention to it all and most other heroes were conversing with each other and ignoring what was going on. Strange enough I was left alone, both by the nobles and by the other heroes. Not that I minded it, I just took note of the fact that I had not been approached by really anyone since arriving here.
After eating my fill and the plates were removed by servants I saw some of the nobles take their leave and so I took the opportunity of doing the same. At the time the king was going on about the coming war, what they were planning and who would be aiding them. All the other heroes stayed behind, weather to be polite or to wait for the king to give them leave is another matter. Maybe they just wanted to hear what the king was saying or maybe they just wanted to stay together for a while longer. I had no desire to hear the rest of it.
In war I think it''s better not to get too invested in things, especially since I have no intention of fighting. To be honest I would rather not know the people who would die in droves, makes it easier for me to go my own way.
After I leave the big hall or whatever it was that they called it, I head outside. I wanted to take a look around the castle area a little, if I was allowed that is. Maybe I could find the garden that I could see from my room. This is a new world so I was sure there would be all sorts of plants and stuff that I have never seen before. On the other hand it wasn¡¯t as if I had paid a lot of attention to it before coming here...
Anyway I head toward where I think the garden should be located.
When I finally locate the gate to the garden area, not asking for directions out of principal, the sun has started to set. The sky is colored in an orange glow and it makes the garden stand out all the more. It is a rich garden that has all the classic stuff like the bushes trimmed to look like bunnies and swans. There were stones and sand laid in wonderful patterns that could be seen from the many balconies up above in the castle. There were even stone fountains, statues and birdbaths of different naked fairytale styled children and women like fish finned mermaids and butterfly winged fairies. Wait since this really is that kind of world maybe they are just statues of real living people? The idea is a little exciting for a fan of fantasy like myself.
I start to wonder just how the fountains work. I mean they don¡¯t have any electricity from what I can tell. There were no lamp posts on the streets and all torches and candles inside. Thinking about it I come to the natural conclusion. Magic. Magic is always the answer to the unknown, especially here in the world which is influenced by it being everywhere. Somehow it gives of a rather lazy feeling.
After walking around the garden, which is surprisingly big, for a bit more I find a peculiar place. It is a 5 meter wide circle of grass surrounded by flowers that are divided by color, mimicking the rainbow. As I walk on some stone laid out for you to be able to enter the circle, I take a deep breath taking in all the scent of the flowers. It smells like a collection of spices but rather than being overwhelming, it is in perfect harmony and gives a refreshing and calming feeling.
Enjoying the scent I lay down in the grass looking up at the sky. Even though this is a new world the sky is still the same. The clouds are still white, the stars still shine and the sun still warms the earth. It is a good reminder that no matter where life is, it is still alive.
While I watch the clouds drift in a sky that is slowly filled with stars I think about what a hell of a day it¡¯s been. I have experienced magic, not a sleight of hand or an illusion of mirrors, real magic. I have met with royalty and nobles. Eaten great food. And let¡¯s face it I am in a freaking castle and everyone calls me a ¡°Hero¡±! How awesome is that? The only downside is the whole going to war for all of mankind business. But since I have yet to be forced to the front lines, I can¡¯t complain.
Really it could all have been so much worse. They could have just captured and tortured us until we lost our humanity, then trained us to be dogs of war and let us loose on the battlefield. It is actually surprising that the king didn¡¯t do something like that. Would it not have been a lot safer for the king that way? Since if they did that then they would have full control of us and be able to have us do what they wanted us to. Of course there is the danger of rebellion but since they have magic they hardly need to worry about it. Maybe they see it as inhumane but really didn¡¯t they say humanity is at stake here?
On the other hand the royalty seem to be idiots so maybe they just went for it and hoped for the best.
¡°So we are to go to war¡¡± I whisper to myself and sigh.
¡°Ah! I-is someone there?¡± I hear a startled voice.
Damn it. Ah I might as well head back.
The sun has set and I quickly make my way back inside the castle. I don¡¯t know if I am even allowed in the garden so rather than get in trouble I hurry on out of there.
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The next morning there is talk of ghosts in the garden.
Some said it was the wind making people jumpy in the dead of night. Others said there might have been a person speaking. The princess¡¯s guards confirmed that there was no one there when they came to look after hearing a voice speak of war. They said that there was no wind that night. Was it a warning from the spirits? Or was it really some ancient ghost that had taken residence in the garden?
There was an old tale of dead who had clung to the castle grounds after the war some 2000 years ago that burned down not only the castle but the now beautiful grounds surrounding it. Old tales were told again and eventually the castle sent the Court mage to investigate and after a thorough investigation it was cleared that no spirits of the dead was in the garden or anywhere in the castle grounds. It was most likely just the wind in the trees that had spooked the ladies.
Or so the officials said, and we all know how you can¡¯t trust the official story.
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Chapter 3: Gearing up.
I, eventually, make it back to my room. In my defense the castle is huge and in the dark everything looks the same. Also it was really quiet and until I found a maid that could show me the way I was freaking out. Sorry, what can I say, alone in a dark castle it¡¯s not strange to be afraid of the dark.
My room is lit up by a few candles and since it''s summertime, or at least I think it is, there is no fire burning. I get out of my clothes, blow out the candles and get to bed.
The next morning my back is killing me. The bed was way too soft. As I lie there grumbling about the bed I hear a soft knock on my door.
¡°E-excuse me, Mr. Hero?¡±
Before I can get up and get dressed the door I opened by a maid in classic maid outfit and demeanor. Like in a freaking manga!
"P-pardon my intrusion but the heroes are to be gathering for breakfast. I-if you would like to join them¡¡±
She is young and apparently new at her work as a maid. Makes me want to mess with her a little bit, but¡
¡°Do I have a choice? I¡¯m rather comfortable right now¡¡± I lie as I yawn out. Truth be told, I am not comfortable at all. I just don¡¯t want them to think I am at their beck and call. My slight and silly way of declaring my independence or something like that. Man I can be childish at times.
¡°Of course if Mr. Hero does not feel well I shall convey to them that sir will be staying in bed¡¡±
Somehow that makes it sound as if I am an old man. I¡¯m only 27. Not even 30 yet!
I sigh and sit up ¡°Well, I have to eat anyway so I might as well.¡± As I say that I look at the heap I made of my clothes. A bad habit of mine.
¡°When are the new clothes arriving by the way?¡±
¡°The first set was delivered this morning; shall I get them for you?¡± She looks like she really just wants to leave. I wonder if I was not the ¡°Hero¡± she had imagined. Somewhat fat hair in a mess after tossing and turning all night. Rings under the eyes and bones cracking at every movement. I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t a pretty picture.
¡°Yes if you don¡¯t mind. I would like to get dressed in something that fit.¡± I tell her and try to give her a smile.
As she exits the room I get up and wash my face in the water basin and try to get some order in my hair. The old fashion comb they have looks more like a weapon than anything else. With my hair drawn back I make a startled discovery. My face looks different. No, rather than different I guess you could say that it looks clean. All zits and blemishes are gone. There are no pores or anything. I look great! Better than I have ever looked in my whole life! Is it the water? No I don¡¯t think it is. It¡¯s just water. What else could it have been? Was it the garden? Hmm but that was just herbs wasn¡¯t it? And all I did was smell them. The only other thing is that we were summoned. Ah maybe that is it, the summoning made us in to heroes right? What was it the Court mage said? We would be getting stronger than others in short amount of time and we would be learning things much faster and have a natural affinity to magic. He said nothing about our appearances changing. But on the other hand who ever heard of an ugly hero?
As I look over myself I realize that my body has lost a lot of imperfections. Birthmarks, scars, liver spots all gone. Even my nail bands are perfect. It¡¯s almost like I am in a new body that only mimics the one I had before.
Is that what the summoning does? If so then our bodies are probably left in our world right? And this is all a dream kind of thing¡ If I got this right they didn¡¯t summon us but our ¡°souls¡± or our ¡°minds¡± in to this place or something like that. But where did they get our bodies then? Something like our bodies is how we see ourselves? How confusing. And neither the Court mage nor the King mentioned anything about it so I guess they don¡¯t have a clue. I wonder if the other heroes have noticed this too¡
Now you all might think that I could not possibly be this smart. In fact this is a rather common thing in fantasy and I have read several books with the same plot. So I am just taking the information I have read and apply it to my situation. Of course there is nothing that tells me weather I am right or not.
The maid soon returns with my clothes. She is a little shocked to see me standing there. I don¡¯t know why, I was in my underwear. Oh wait, did they have underwear in the medieval times? Well that would explain why she was in a hurry to get out.
The tailor had not asked me for how I would like my clothes made so I guess I was given a standard that all heroes would wear, at least in the beginning. It was a gray set of clothes, just picture a medieval noble without the silly puffed up hips or shoulders and you¡¯re somewhat close.
¡°Should I help you dress my lord?¡± She suddenly asks. Now that caught me by surprise.
¡°Eh, do I need help to get dressed?¡± Maybe it really is necessary to have help, at least the first time, in order to look proper.
¡°Ah, ehm. N-no my lord I didn¡¯t mean¡¡± She pales and completely misunderstood my meaning. She seems to think I was insulted by her when in fact I was wondering the same thing.
¡°Calm down will you. I was honestly wondering if I really do need help. I have no idea myself. Never worn these types of clothes before. So let¡¯s just say, yes. I do need help getting dressed.¡±
¡°As you wish my lord.¡± She tells me as she blushes realizing her mistake. She takes forth a wooden screen that I can dress behind.
¡°Oh and I am not a lord.¡±
¡°Th-then what do I call you?¡±
¡°Hmm¡¡± Another question I never thought about. Since I am in a fantasy world I can¡¯t use my own name, that would just be silly. I quickly go through all the names I can think of. It can¡¯t be something like ¡°Shadow¡± or ¡°Blade¡±. That would just be stupid. And I can¡¯t use my internet handle because it won¡¯t work. I try to think of myself as a person, what would be a good name for me. I scratch my head as I come up with a blank.
¡°Just¡ call me whatever you want but I am definitely not a lord. By the way do you call all the heroes for lord?¡±
¡°Just the men, the women are called Ladies.¡±
¡°Ah then never mind. It¡¯s not like it matters, I just think that me being called a lord sounds a bit silly, that¡¯s all. Please disregard this conversation.¡± If I were to be called differently from the other heroes then I would stand out which is the opposite of what I want.
As I do my best to get dressed behind the screen she explains the process. There are at least seven parts I have never even heard of. Two of which, a strange upstanding collar and a long lace sleeve type thing, I disregard completely since they are only in the way. When I come out from the screen the maid quickly steps forward and adjust things here and there until finally I am dressed. Now I have her explain the ¡°finer¡± details. Things like how to sit down without ripping my pants and how to go about visiting the toilet. Let¡¯s not speak of this ever again¡
I am going to have to talk to the damn tailor about this. I grumble to myself as I make my way down to eat.
As I finally make it to the great hall I hear the king explain about the magic of this world. But since I got here late, thanks to the trouble with the clothes, I don¡¯t really get any of it. Not wanting to interrupt and make a scene as I arrive late, I quietly sit down at a table near the kitchen door.
Just as I am reaching for bread and butter I feel the people around me are staring at me.
¡°¡what?¡± I ask wondering if I did something wrong. I am pretty sure I managed to sit down without my pants ripping...
¡°A-ah¡ Nothing my lord.¡± They say while averting their gaze.
¡°If I took someone¡¯s place just tell me and I¡¯ll move.¡± I whisper to the guy next to me.
¡°T-there is no need for that my lord. Rather it is us who should move for you.¡±
¡°Why? You have as much right to sit as I do.¡± I say and bread myself a sandwich. Seeing that they didn¡¯t mind me joining them I thought to sate my hunger.
The people around me stare with big eyes and soon start to whisper among them. I didn¡¯t pay too much attention as the king was actually talking about things I wanted to know, for once. He was telling the heroes to head to the armory after breakfast where we are to pick out weapon and armor that will be remade for us. Apparently they will make us new armor and weapons using existing once as reference. Seems like a complete waste of iron and steel to me. A few maids were told to show the way. I follow the last group out, by then I had eaten my fill.
Before I leave though I ask the people around me.
¡°Sorry but do you know where I should put the dishes?¡±
¡°W-well you could just leave them here, my lord. We will take care of them.¡± The guy who sat next to me said.
¡°Ok, thanks mate!¡± I shrug and head after the heroes.
When we arrive at the royal armory we are met with a big room. This castle seems to be filled with oversized rooms. The walls are covered in shields. There is tons of display cases showing of different kinds of armor pieces and in front of a huge window stands a bunch of mannequins covered in different armor sets.
¡°Welcome to my humble abode, my lords and ladies.¡± The dwarf we saw earlier come out of a side door and welcomes us. ¡°The King has told me to craft you your own personal armor and weapon so please take a look around and tell me if anything takes your fancy. I took the liberty of putting together a few armor sets for those of you who are a little unsure of what you want.¡±
He shows us to the manikins. The armors have been polished and shines in the late morning sun. Sounds of admiration come from the heroes. I can¡¯t help but thinking what a superb target these armors would make you on a battlefield.
The Armorer starts to explain about the armors he have put in order. There are all the classics and then some.
First is the heaviest of them all, the Titan armor. It¡¯s a full chainmail armor covered in giant full plate armor. It¡¯s heavy as all hell but provides near perfect protection. The Titans are part of the royal army that stands for the defensive part of the infantry. Their job is to hold their ground no matter what they are up against.
The Paladin armor. A full plate armor which is lighter than the Titan armor since it lacks the chainmail. Paladins are of course holy fighters of light and good who stands to protect the people. They are the heavy infantry of the church. Their job is more versatile than the Titans since they are able to act as cavalry and infantry.
The more modest Duelist armor. It is a light leather armor with a breast plate. It is favored by nobles for use in their duels since it allows free movement while protecting the vital areas.
The Cleric''s armor. It is basically just a chainmail covered by a tabard. Favored by the healing clerics for its high defense.
The Knight armor, a half plate armor with a silly pointy helmet favored by the heavy cavalry.
The Scouts armor, a layered leather armor with some plate favored by light cavalry and scouts.
The Hunter''s armor, a light leather and cloth armor favored by archers and hunters.
The Mage armor, which is really just a robe filled with magic symbols to protect the mage from other mages.
Basically they are like the premade classes in roleplaying games. Kind of boring.
Those are just my own thoughts of course; the other heroes seem to make their choices rather quickly. The Armorer writes down their choices and their room numbers so they can be delivered as they are finished.
¡°After you are done picking out your armor you can proceed to the next room and pick a weapon that suits you.¡±
And away goes the heroes, filled with excitement. They seem to be getting along rather well. Everyone seems to already have made up their mind as to what they would choose. As if it was a simple choice. I really can¡¯t help but disagree.
¡°Can I choose anything in here, not just the armor on the manikins?¡± I ask.
¡°Oh but of course! Just bring anything that takes your fancy to the table by the door and I will write it up for you.¡± The Armorer responds a little surprised. I wonder if no one else actually looked around and just picked from the premade armors.
There is a lot of stuff here. From shoes to gloves to pads and full body plates. Made with steel, leather, chainmail, scale mail and even wood. So much stuff, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Or maybe it more like a nerd at a convention. I want to look at everything but while I am all giddy on the inside I do my best to look calm. After browsing for a good while I start to look around more seriously.
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¡°Uhm, is it possible to have the pieces chosen altered? There is a lot of good stuff here but some lack what I am looking for and some things are not here at all. Can I have them made if I were to describe them to you?¡±
¡°That would be no problem whatsoever. As long as you give a sufficient description of what you want I am sure we can have it made for you. Even if you are not sure of what you want I am certain we can make something that will suit your taste.¡± The Armorer tells me while proudly puffing out his chest.
¡°Excellent! Then there are a few items I would like to talk about¡¡±
*****
Starting with the dark brown leather shoes I ask for metal to be sown into the heel and toe, not wanting to end up like Achilles.
Then we have the shin guards which are reminiscing of the classic ninja style shin guards, as in they bend toward the toe slightly creating an area suitable for kicking. Not that I can kick anything more than a football but I have training to look forward to and a man can dream can¡¯t he? I have the Armorer add some kneepads to it as well, since i will probably need it.
Next we have the, let¡¯s just call it for what it is, the subligar. Yes it¡¯s the leather man diaper they used for gladiators in the ancient roman times. I chose them to protect my interests. Also they provide for free movement. Just think of it as a cup for your balls.
Moving on I chose a nice wide and thick belt that covers my waist and stomach. It is filled with places that can hang bags and stuff. It¡¯s about 20 cm thick and gives good support.
Then we have the chest armor, where I am going for a leather vest underneath a custom made breastplate. The breastplate is sown in between two layers of leather so the armor just looks like it''s thick leather armor. It covers my chest, back and midsection. Leaving my sides open for ventilation and ease of movement. I think I was on the right track when I thought of it, I just hope the Armorer thought the same¡
Lastly wrist guards. I made sure that they would cover my entire forearms and have a pointy by at my elbow that I can use to attack with. I also had the foresight of asking for room where hidden knives can be placed in my boots and wrist guards.
Oh and I made sure he understood that I wanted all my armor to have a slightly shoddy look to it. Absolutely no polished metal or shiny bits. Nor any brightly colored details, just some nice earthy colors that
don¡¯t stand out much. I have no reason to find myself at a battlefield but, should I in some event do so, I really want to do everything I can not to be a bright and shiny target. It¡¯s just self-preservation really.
*****
As I take a last look around the room the mage armor catches my eye.
What did he say about that again? It was good for protecting against magic?
¡°Excuse me but could you tell me some more about the mage armor?¡± I ask the Armorer who is by now a little annoyed with my constant questions and requests.
¡°Certainly my lord. The Mage armor is made with enchanted thread, which has been blessed by the elements, giving it a great resistance to the elements. It has also been inscribed with runes that wards against offensive magic. Although it¡¯s physical resistance can¡¯t compare to regular armor, it is unequal when it comes to warding against any magical attack.¡±
¡°If that is the case then why is it that you haven¡¯t implemented its fabric in the other armors? Would it not make sense to have for example a full plate mail on top of this robe, there by getting the best of both worlds?¡±
¡°Sadly the enchantments in the fabric is disrupted by the metal in the plate armor. And the runes have a need of being on the outside to have any effect. There have been several people who have tried it but since the effect is greatly lowered or entirely ineffective when coupled with any metal most have simply given up.¡±
¡°Hmm¡ but why then¡¡±
¡°I know what you mean to say but the elements do not look kindly to the used of the dead. Therefore even leather armor has a similar effect. Truthfully I don¡¯t understand it all myself, I am but a smith. If you want more details as to why things are as they are maybe my lord should ask the church.¡±
¡°Well I guess it can¡¯t be helped. However it¡¯s not as if it won¡¯t have any effect at all so rather than having nothing why don¡¯t we make a cloak out of the fabric. That way it will be out of contact with the metal as much as possible while still being of some use.¡±
¡°Sigh¡ Fine I will make the order but please don¡¯t put your hopes on it working.¡±
¡°Even if it only works 1% of the time that 1% can save my life one day. If not it will still be a fancy cloak.¡± I say with a smile, satisfied with the possibility of getting a magic item. Finally I am done with the armor and I head to the next room. Once more it¡¯s a grand view, especially for a fantasy lover.
The walls are covered with every type of weapon. Display cases and barrels are filled to the brim with everything from simple knives and daggers to swords, spears and arrows.
¡°Oh ho ho hoo¡¡± I can¡¯t help but to be all giddy in front of all the fun stuff.
¡°Haa¡ This is going to take a while¡¡± sighs the dwarf. I think he is starting to dislike me. Well, I am the last one and I have spent almost two hours picking my armor. I would be annoyed too.
The massive amounts of weapons in front of me makes me somewhat stumped as to where I should look first. Eventually I just turn to the right and go down the line.
There are long swords, spears, pikes, short bows, long bows, staffs, halberds, axes, throwing knives, daggers, short swords, falchions, rapiers, maces, hammers, sickles, chakrams, naginatas, katanas and a bunch of weapons I don¡¯t know the name of. I find myself taking note of almost a hundred weapons I would be happy to take with me.
However eventually I calm down a bit and start to think about it more seriously.
The weapon I should chose is the first weapon I will learn how to handle so it should probably be something easy. That rules out all the more exotic weapons, especially the ones I don¡¯t know the name or function for. It should be a versatile weapon that I can bring with me wherever I go. So no spears or ranged weapons. Nothing too heavy so no axes or maces. Ok let¡¯s just face it; it has to be a sword right?
I make my decision and walk up to the massive collection of swords that cover the better part of a wall as well as a few barrels in front of it.
Now then what to pick, what to pick. The obvious choice is a katana. Known for its superior cutting power over all other swords a katana is always nice.
I take out a few katanas and put them to the side.
Hmm¡ What else are there? How about a rapier? If the katana has cutting power than the rapier has piercing power. Not only that they look good too, known as the dress sword.
I pick one that looks about right.
Then there are some silly once here. Just look at that overly curved one; it¡¯s like a short half circle. No I don¡¯t think so, nothing that round. Maybe a machete type blade?
I take out one and swing it around a bit.
No it doesn¡¯t feel right at all. Hmm¡ is there nothing else?
I have to admit I felt a bit disappointed as I looked around. I was half expecting to find a perfect weapon for me in here but all I could find was some classics that took my fancy. Letting out a deep sigh I take up the swords I have gathered and prepare to head back to the dwarf who had gone off into the armor room. And clumsy as I am I misstep and fall on my face. As I get up cursing myself for not being careful I see a handle in one of the barrels filled with swords that looks rather different than any of the others. Instead of being a straight handle, like a normal sword, it was curved. It was also longer than normal, at least twice as long. Curious to see the rest of the blade I ignore the fallen swords on the floor and pick it up. It is a scimitar, but not the curved kind. Instead it is an almost straight scimitar with an elegantly designed blade. The blade is only about a meter long with a very slight curve while the hilt is about 40 cm with a curve in the other direction. It is really light and I can hardly believe it is steel. It¡¯s not really decorated, other than the stylish form of the blade, and it lack a guard but I am still entranced with the sword. I know why most swords have a guard. The most common injury for swords users, apart from the obvious cuts, is the loss of fingers. Somehow it no longer seems to matter to me and I know I have already made my choice.
¡°I want this one.¡± I walk out and tell the dwarf.
¡°Huh!? Oh. well now I haven¡¯t seen that blade for a long time. It was a gift to the queen ages ago, before the princess was born. Given by a passing merchant in hopes of gaining her favor. She never had an interest and told me to store it away for her. Been here ever since.¡±
¡°Such a shame for a fine sword like this to be lying around collecting dust. Well at least now I can let it see the sun.¡± I tell him happily.
¡°Ah well, you can let its soon to be forged brother see the sun. This one is the queens so it will have to stay here¡¡±
¡°Oh, I see. Well if you can forge a sword that is equal to this one in shape, size, balance and weight then I don¡¯t mind.¡± I tell him while smiling and hand him the sword.
¡°Haha that won¡¯t be any¡¡±
As he takes the sword from my hands he suddenly freezes. Feeling the weight of the blade he suddenly looks confused.
¡°What is¡?¡± He mumbles as he draws the blade from the scabbard. He walks up to the window in order to see better and examines the blade.
¡°Oh, Oh my. I had can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t realize it before. My lord, this sword is not a regular steel sword.¡± He tells me in a serious tone. ¡°This was made by the dark elves of Everfalls.¡±
The hero finds a sword made by the elves. How more clich¨¦ can it get? I think to myself.
¡°The dark elves? Who are they?¡± I ask him, hiding my unpleasant feeling.
¡°They are Enchanters, known for their weapons. The dark elves live for their weapons, not allowing others, not even family members to wield them. A dark elf will, from the age of 6, start working on their own weapon. Over time they will perfect it until finally they die and are buried with it. They believe that a person¡¯s weapon holds a part of their soul. That to be one with your weapon is to be one with yourself. I am sorry my lord but I can¡¯t make anything like this, even if I had a life time I could never make something that even came close to rivaling this sword. Truthfully we should not even have it here, ah if only I had paid attention back then¡¡± He trails off staring at the blade.
¡°Well if you can¡¯t make it then¡ can I have this one?¡± I ask while knowing it¡¯s a long shot.
¡°Huh? Out of the question! First of all this sword belongs to the queen, even a hero is not privileged to a queens belongings. Secondly, this sword is dangerous. Just having this sword makes you a target. The dark elves will move heaven and earth to get the sword back; it is like taking their ancestors bones with you. No this here sword will stay right here until we can figure out how to get it back to the dark elves without angering them. Trust me my lord you really don¡¯t want this blade.¡±
I feel shocked. This whole situation is rather absurd. First I fall on the floor and find a rare weapon, then I find out it¡¯s made by the elves and holds magic. Almost as if the sword was made for me. And now he is telling me I can¡¯t have it? God damn it!
"Argh! Fine.¡± I tell him and leave. I no longer feel like picking a weapon. Instead I feel like sulking.
Showing me such a cool sword only to take it away from me. I grumble as I walk out of the armory.
¡°Oh my lord!¡± One of the guards I don¡¯t recognize calls out to me ¡°The other heroes are in the barracks, if you would like to join them I can show you the way there.¡± I nod for him to lead the way. Might as well see what they are up too.
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Chapter 4: Meeting Millie
As we get closer to the barracks i start to hear the ¡±Clangs!¡± of steel against steel coupled with the ¡°Clacks!¡± of wood against wood. The sound is almost like hail hitting a metal roof.
Wow they must really be going at it already. I can¡¯t help but being a bit impressed with the knight commander who is supposed to teach us.
As I enter through the low wall surrounding the training area, which is about the size of a football field, what I see is the heroes sitting in a semicircle facing the knight commander. Behind him is the source of the sounds I heard earlier. There soldiers are franticly sparring with swords, bows and spears. At a casual glance they seem to be giving it their all in the sparring; however a closer look reveals that they keep glancing towards the heroes, in other words it¡¯s all a practiced play fight, kind of like WWE does their wrestling. They are just showing off. I stay at the entrance as the soldier gets back to work.
What the hell is this!? Is this how we will learn to wage war? Like a fucking middle school class on a fieldtrip! And what is with the soldiers? They are doing stupid jumps and dancing around like morons! Is this a show? A circus maybe?
I get more and more agitated as I watch the knight commander talk about the use of each basic weapon. Basically what he was saying was that swords cut, spears pierce and bows shoot arrows. Just hearing him explaining it, and the fact that the heroes are listening intently, makes me more embarrassed than anything. I mean seriously this is the basic of the basic; it¡¯s something you learn before ABC and 123. I have a strong urge to face-palm myself.
Eventually the explanation and show sparring comes to an end and the heroes are told to split up and join the soldiers whom they are interested in learning from. It reminds me of something from school. When we went to test different instruments to see if there was any we would enjoy learning to play. I can¡¯t take part in this shit.
With a deep sigh I walk up to the knight commander and pull him aside.
¡°Excuse me but is there a place where I can practice by myself? Since I am the oldest here and I really don¡¯t have any experience to speak of really, not to mention that my physical condition is at an all-time low. It would be horrible if I embarrassed myself in front of the kids¡¡± I try to sound as mellow as I can.
¡°Hmm¡ Of course I understand that there could be some complications what with the age difference and all but I am confident that you will improve quickly through sparring with your fellow heroes.¡±
¡°Please understand where I am coming from, sir. If an adult like me were to spar against some of these children then, should I win, I would be considered a bully. However should I lose, I would be looked down upon as a worthless hero. Therefore I wish to train by myself, at least until my physical condition improves to a better state so I will not embarrass myself.¡±
And I really don¡¯t trust you guys to teach me jack shit.
The knight commander looks a bit troubled by my request but soon gives in.
¡°Well if you insist¡¡±
¡°I do.¡±
¡°Very well, I¡¯ll show you to a place where you can train in peace. Lieutenant, take over until I return!¡±
¡°Yes Sir!¡±
I let out a big sigh of relief and hurriedly follow the knight commander. If he hadn¡¯t accepted I would have been forced to ask some questions about the suspicious circumstances of our appearance here and the intentions of our ¡°guards¡± at that time. Frankly I would have been forced to make this entire situation a whole lot complicated.
You may wonder why I would go to such lengths just to be able to train on my own. Well the truth of the matter is that I adore the idea of sword fighting and have, during times I knew beyond a doubt that no one would be able to watch me, been swinging around sticks and decoration swords while pretending to fight. I even did that at my age. It¡¯s something that others would without a doubt look down on me for. After all a grown man playing with sticks and swords is not something that is accepted in today¡¯s days and age, unless you are in a kendo club or something similar.
The knight commander brings me to a smaller enclosed area, about 30 meters square, on the other side of the barracks. It¡¯s filled with different manikins, ranged targets, racks of wooden weapons and bows, a barrel filled with arrows and some benches and water barrels. There is even a ring painted on the ground for sparring.
¡°This is where the commanders train. There aren¡¯t that many of us so you should be left alone for the most part. Just tell anyone who asks that I let you in here and it should be fine. If you have any questions or if you would like to spar feel free to ask anytime and I would be happy to oblige you.¡±
¡°Thank you so much, this place is perfect!¡± It¡¯s really is above what I had expected. To be honest I would have been happy with just an empty space where I could avoid being seen. Looking around the only place where you can really look in is the balcony on the top floor of the barracks and it should be closed to the general public.
¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We aim to train for an hour a day this first few weeks starting with basic endurance and strength. This training is essential and will save your life one day so be sure not to slack off!¡± And with that he returns to the other heroes.
After he left I can¡¯t help but smile. It¡¯s every boys dream to learn how to use a sword, and now I don¡¯t just have a reason to I am more or less forced to do it. Since it¡¯s like that how can I not be happy?
I take off my shirt and do some stretching. After confirming that my body really is stiff as a board I take a look around and wonder what to start with. Although I would love to start shooting some arrows that would not do me any good. I know my body and I am aware of the things I lack. So first things first, I need to train my endurance. First I should do is set a benchmark. I decide to start running. I run as fast as I can from one side of the area to the other and then I turn around and run back, counting each time to see just how long I can keep it up. I am ashamed to say that I only got up to four before I was unable to run anymore.
Disappointed in myself I lay down on the ground panting. A lot of swearing and ¡°If only¡¯s¡± later I get up and try my hand at basic sit-ups and pushups. Barely managing 20 of each I once again have to lie down and swear a bit. Normally this is the time when I would give up but this time I really have to get into shape if I want to survive in this world. So since I have no real choice I might as well just get to it.
Thinking that I start to alternate between running, sit-ups, push ups, stretching and resting. Now don¡¯t get me wrong here, I am not some super exercise nut. So although I made a decision to focus on training I still rest more than I train. Even so I keep at it thinking that someone will surely come get me when I am supposed to stop I keep training as the sun wanders the sky. Soon enough my arms feel like spaghetti and my stomach feels like it¡¯s been beaten black and blue. As I lie there on the hard ground waiting for my body to be able to move once again I hear footsteps approaching. A shadow falls on my face and the person in question stops behind me blocking the sun.
¡°That¡¯s an odd way of training¡¡± I hear a clear female voice. ¡°Normally you would swing a weapon to bring up your stamina and strength, not running around like a headless chicken until you collapse.¡±
So here it¡¯s normal to swing a sword around like an idiot in order to train your body huh? I sourly think to myself as I sit up to take a better look at her.
Contrary to her voice she is not a petite beauty at all. How could I describe her? Big but a bit short, strong while looking a bit overweight? She was not someone you would call pretty, cute or beautiful. She looks more like a bully. Yes that¡¯s it! She looks like a strong, don¡¯t you mess with me or I will crush you into paste, kind of bully. Or a bandit woman. In fact she is kind of dressed like a bandit¡
After taking a good look I wobbly stand up.
¡°¡Well, you see¡¡±
What should I tell her? ¡®I recently broke my leg and since it has just healed I thought I would do some light training¡¯? Nah too fake¡ What am I thinking, bad habits of finding excuses for everything even if they are not needed. Just tell her the truth.
I sigh and start to explain to her.
¡°I am weak and I really don¡¯t know anything about swordsmanship or how to shoot a bow. I have never even been in a fight my whole life. So I thought I should start by getting into reasonable shape before I start to swing around swords and stuff, you know?¡±
¡°Then why are you over here training by yourself instead of with the other heroes? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you had the knight commander¡¯s guidance?¡±
¡°Heh, training with a bunch of kids will only make me more embarrassed of how weak I am. Seriously I am 27 years old and there are 12 year olds that have more stamina and strength then me.¡±
Besides I don¡¯t agree to the way they do things. Like a school gym class rather than the army training that I was expecting.
¡°I see so your silly pride drove you here to train alone?¡±
¡°Yea, pretty much.¡±
¡°Ok, keep it up.¡± She just shrugs and leaves the area.
What the hell was that all about? She just left...
I scratch my head and decided that I can¡¯t really go back to training after that. Not only is my body exhausted, but I am getting hungry too. So I quickly wash my neck with water before putting my shirt back on somewhat, before going to get something to eat.
As I enter the castle I meet with the solder from before who reports that the other heroes had finished their physical training and eaten already and that they were now gathered on the third floor where they were getting instructions in magic. I thank him and move on.
I would love to learn magic but I am way too hungry and way too tired. Let¡¯s just go eat and then take a nap. I think to myself as I go to the kitchen.
The smell of boiling broths and spicy meat surrounding the kitchen really gets my appetite going. Almost drooling I enter the kitchen door.
¡°Wow!¡± ¡°Crash! Bang! Slam! Cliir!¡±
As I entered I immediately ran into a person carrying a tray and cause him to trip and drop it all in a splendid act that ended with me covered with hot soup made of vegetables and finely cut meat. In such a situation I did what I think everyone of us would do.
¡°Aaahh!! Fuck! It burns! Get me some god damn water! Hurry up! Damn it!¡± I swear and scream until finally someone comes running with a bucket of water.
¡°Oh god! Are you alright? Here is the water.¡± Someone on the staff hands me the bucket and I just tip it upside down on myself to get the hot soup off of me.
¡°WHAT¡¯S GOING ON HERE!?¡± A roar is suddenly heard and a giant of a man wobbles forward holding an enormous wooden spoon as if it was a war axe. I could almost feel the ground shake as the giant tub of lard made his way toward us.
¡°BILLY! Explain yourself!¡± He demands of the person I had run in to.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry sir I was just about to head up to the lady Gray with her dinner when this person ran into me and I lost my balance. Please sir it, it wasn¡¯t my fault!¡± He quickly explains while eyeing the wooden spoon in near panic.
Since I now have cooled down a bit and am no longer in agonizing pain from the hot soup I calm down and realize that this was obviously my own fault for rushing into the kitchen like that.
¡°You DROPPED madam grays soup!? That I had prepared so carefully to meet her tastes! YOU IMBECILE!¡± The Fatty screams out at the top of his lungs and smacks Billy on the side of his head with the spoon, sending him flying across the floor.
¡°Ah Billy!¡± the one who brought me the bucket cries out and rushes to his side.
¡°Don¡¯t help the little rat, Bridgett! Clean up this mess instead before I send you flying as well!¡±
¡°OHY! What the fuck you doin fatty!?¡± I yell out. Normally I am a timid person but this guy is really pissing me off.
At the word fatty the whole kitchen gets deathly quiet. I guess I said the taboo word. They all look at me as if I¡¯m fucked.
¡°¡what did you say?¡± Fatty whispers out ominously as he turns towards me.
¡°¡I-I was the one at fault here, you should not just jump to conclusions like that and getting violent with the staff is hardly the way to handle things. So just calm down¡±
Acting as if he didn¡¯t hear me he asks:
¡°What did you call¡ me?¡± He is shaking of anger at this point and the showing his yellow teeth in a grimace.
At this point I dodged a bullet, just as I was about to get my head squashed like a melon by a giant spoon, a man enters the kitchen.
¡°What¡¯s going on¡? Oh Mr. Hero what are you doing in here? What happened, you¡¯re all wet?¡± It was the soldier from before, the one who guided me to the barracks. He had apparently heard the commotion after I had entered and come to check up on things.
¡°H-hero?¡± Fatty suddenly gets awfully pale as her hears the soldier''s words.
¡°Yes, this is one of the 50 heroes who were summoned recently. Shouldn¡¯t you of all people know that?¡±
¡°E-ehm, right I-I¡¯m sorry, my lord I didn¡¯t recognize you¡¡± Fatty speaks out with a timid voice.
What¡¯s with the change of tone!? Just a second ago you were about to bash my head in and now you sound as if you just insulted the king, is a hero really that big of a deal?
¡°Right, well don¡¯t worry about it¡ In fact it was all my fault so let¡¯s just leave it at that. I got to go change into some new clothes, do you mind sending some food up to my room?¡± I think it would be best to stay away from the kitchen for a while.
¡°Certainly my lord I will have it sent up immediately.¡± The fat man somehow makes a small bow, I doubt he can make a bigger one unless he wants to fall face first on the floor, and turns around to get everyone who was just gawking us. ¡°Billy, get off the floor already! Cate I don¡¯t see your hands moving! Everyone get your asses back to work!¡± And so everyone quickly gets out of his way and back to work.
Still having pieces of meat and carrots here and there, not to mention that I am soaked, I leave the kitchen to make my way back to my room. The soldier escorts me all the way.
¡°Jesus that was close, I thought he would make me in to the next item on the menu, haha. You really saved my ass there, thanks.¡± I tell him.
¡°No thanks necessary my lord. However, if I may be so bold, next time just make it clear who you are and there should be no problems.¡±
¡°Yea but, I can¡¯t really walk around telling people that ¡®Hey! I¡¯m one of the heroes!¡± you know? It¡¯s embarrassing. Besides I have only been a hero for no more than a day.¡±
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
¡°¡¡± I guess he didn¡¯t think about that.
We continue walking to my room, I am glad that I had an escort since I really don¡¯t know my way around yet. The maids who see us quickly scurry out of the way while whispering. Tonight there will be more juicy gossip for them to enjoy I bet. Once I arrive at my room the soldier tells me that he will send someone up with a bath so I can clean up.
¡°Thanks¡ what your name by the way?¡± I ask as I realize I don¡¯t know it.
¡°I¡¯m Hank my lord, Hank Fieldstone.¡±
¡°A pleasure to meet you Hank.¡± I say and shake his hand.
¡°And, if I may ask, what should call my lord?¡± Hank asks after an awkward minute.
¡°Oh I¡¯m¡ hmm¡ I don¡¯t know, call me whatever you like.¡±
¡°¡My lord?¡± He looks at me confused but as I lead him to the door he gets the point and leaves.
I really have to make a name for myself, literally. If this goes on I will blur out some stupid name at a bad time and be unable to change it. But how do you choose a name? I could take one from some other hero I know of, there are plenty, but that would not really feel right. I¡¯d rather make my own name then take someone else¡¯s. It should be something that fits me and my character. But who am I? Let¡¯s think a little about who I am. I am a bit cynical. I am weak. I am a bit of a coward. I love fantasy. Okay this is getting me nowhere¡ I can¡¯t really pick a name that will fit in the future either since I don¡¯t know the future. So in the end it has to be something genetic. Something that always works. A name¡ name¡
Deep in thought I start to wash myself of a bit while I await the bath. As expected it is a wooden tub more than a real bath, just big enough to sit down in. The servants who brought it tell me that hot water is on the way. I thank them and undress. A nice hot bath later and I get in to bed for a nap. It¡¯s still in the middle of the day, around 2 pm, so I will just take a short nap and then go find some of the magic instructors to see what I missed.
I awake to the light of the sun, rising over the horizon. After watching it for a while I sigh, I slept all the way to the next morning. Fearing the pain in my body that will surely be there I slowly and carefully get out of bed. After doing some light stretching I am happy to discover no sense of pain. So I get dressed in my new blue outfit that has been delivered while I was sleeping. Or at least I would have been getting dressed if it wasn¡¯t for the outfit itself.
No way in hell am I wearing that!
You know these puffy legs and arms that were popular in the 1600¡¯s? Yea it was just like that.
¡°Okay I guess I¡¯m going to the tailor to have a nice long chat about what is wearable and what is not.¡±
I sigh to myself. Yesterday¡¯s clothes have been cleaned so I get dressed in those instead.
Might as well go eat, I think and get going to the great hall. Arriving I notice that there is barely anyone there. It¡¯s still really early and the servants are just about to set the tables so I take a seat out of the way and ask for some bread and tea. After a few minutes one of the cooks comes out with a giant tray and sets it down before me.
¡°Here you go my lord; I hope it is to your pleasure.¡± There is more on that tray then I or a whole company could eat.
¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I ask wondering if there was a mistake.
¡°Ah it¡¯s just a little thank you, my lord, as well as an apology, for yesterday. Had you not intervened I would have been out on the street. I am also really sorry for spilling soup on you like that my lord¡¡± The cook was Billy from yesterday, I didn¡¯t recognize him since at the time I was busy trying not to get my face burned off.
¡°This is not necessary since I was the one at fault after all. Had I been more careful you would have had one less lump on your head.¡±
¡°Then please accept it as an apology from the head cook for his behavior towards you.¡±
I see no where to get myself out of this and since Billy would probably be in trouble if he had to take it all back, I accepted it and start to dig in.
As I eat other people start to trickle in. The nobles and heroes that come in big groups stare at me where I sit alone close to the kitchen with a giant silver tray of food in front of me. I quickly eat my fill and more or less flee from their whispering.
I head outside and, after asking a guard if it was alright this time, I take a walk through the garden. It gives of a nice a fresh feeling. Once I digested my breakfast I head to the training ground to once more get some exercise.
As I stretch I get the feeling that I can already feel a difference from yesterday. Thinking that it¡¯s only my imagination I start to run. I made it 8 times running from wall to wall this time!
Wow! Is this the body of a hero? Is this what they meant with us growing faster than a normal human? If it¡¯s like this¡ no let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves now. All I can do is to continue, besides it might be that I was in a worse condition yesterday right? This might just be a fluke.
However I managed to make a full 50 pushups and 60 sit-ups. I also felt that my recovery rate had improved.
T-this¡ This is amazing! Holy shit this is awesome! If we learn this quickly with everything then¡ Wait, wait a minute there is never just an upside there has to be a downside to all this too. Apart from the risk of accelerated aging which is highly possible there should also be something else right? Maybe we will get some harsh backlash or maybe our bodies will break down. Hmm, thinking about it there are smaller problems as well. Things like our bodies growing faster than our minds can keep up with. But maybe I am overthinking things. I have only just started after all. But this really makes things a lot more fun!
After thinking about it I pick up one of the wooden swords. It¡¯s probably a good idea to swing a sword in order to keep tabs on my body¡¯s condition. Not to mention the fact that it is kind of fun.
I step inside the sparring ring and take a stance like they do in kendo. Then I imagine that a person is attacking me and I slowly counter them and retaliate. It¡¯s how I always play. I know it¡¯s silly but who gives a fuck, there is no one who will see me and I have heard that it is an excellent way of training how to kill without actually killing. Used in something called Iaido, which is like kendo but with real swords. I¡¯m a bit iffy in my knowledge about such stuff so I just go with it. Since I have decided to do this I might as well do it to the best of my ability.
I visualize my opponent and slash at him, again and again. I counter and slash toward his neck, knee, armpit and stomach. Before I have only done this for a few minutes so it was never really hard and since I never really tried but was just fooling around I never got tired. But this time it¡¯s different and after about 20 minutes I am sweating like hell. As a final effort I try to speed up my swings as fast as I can. In my mind I cut of heads, arms and legs in a flurry of movements that, in my mind, are brilliantly executed. However¡
¡°I see you''ve stopped running around like a headless chicken.¡± I hear a familiar voice tell with glee.
I would have gotten red with embarrassment had I not already been red with exhaustion.
¡°I¡ took your advice and thought it might not be such a bad idea to swing a sword for a while after all.¡± A white lie with a bit of truth to make me feel better about the situation.
¡°Really, then why are you just swinging your sword around like a moron?¡± Busted¡
¡°Well¡ to be honest. It¡¯s like I told you yesterday. I don¡¯t know what the hell I am doing. I have never fought before so I am just doing what I can. I am using my imagination and do what I can.¡±
¡°Sigh¡ Why don¡¯t you just ask the knight commander to teach you? He is a great sword fighter and has won many honorable duels. At least get someone whom you can spar with.¡±
¡°Well if you can get me a sparring partner I can kill a few hundred times then sure.¡±
¡°K-kill!? Why would you kill your sparring partner?¡± For some reason her confusion ticks me off.
¡°Why would I train to not kill my opponent? Isn¡¯t that counterproductive since we are supposed to fight a war?¡± And so my true feelings spill out. ¡°We were not summoned to learn how to be nice to our opponent and how to stay your blade and not deal the finishing blow. Or do you intend to have us fight the demon army with wooden swords and sticks!?¡±
¡°¡¡±
¡°You took us from our homes to have us slaughter hundreds, no thousands of demons, to risk our lives to save you! If I am going to do such a thing then forget about honor in battle that will only get me killed. I would rather learn how to fight dishonorably. We will be fighting for our lives and for yours so why should we care about how my opponent feels? If they feel pain that should be a good thing for me right? If they die that means I am alive and well. So no I really am not going to ask for someone to spar with.¡±
¡°You make it sound like you will be alone out there. As if we won¡¯t fight beside you. We will risk our lives just as much as you will risk yours!¡±
I almost scream out to her. Will? You speak as if I have no choice in the matter. So now I am to be forced to fight! You fuckers are treating us as if we are no more than fucking dogs to do as we are told once the fighting begins! But I hold back and just stare at her. I really don¡¯t know why I am arguing with this random person. Guess I needed to vent a little.
I take a deep breath and calm myself down. There is no need to get worked up over nothing.
¡°Anyway I¡¯d like to get back to swinging my sword like a moron if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Putting an end to the conversation I turn my back and steps into the sparring ring and start to swing. Rather than the image training I did before, I do some repetition swings. The classic up and down swing while stepping forward from kendo and some side swings where I try to use my entire body to put force into the swings. The woman silently stands where I left her, watching me swing away. After just about 15min or so my hands are getting blistered. Doing repetition swings are really bad for your hands in comparison to free style swings. As I notice that my hands have blisters I give out a curse and go to the water barrel to cool my hands off.
¡°You hurt yourself?¡± She suddenly asks and walks up to me.
¡°Just got a blister.¡±
¡°You should see a healer for that; they can fix it in no time.¡±
Wow so no matter how hard you work you can still have good looking hands and skin. I don¡¯t know if that is a good or a bad thing.
¡°I¡¯ll do that then.¡± I tell her and get moving to see if I can find a healer.
¡°¡did you mean it?¡± I hear from behind me.
¡°Yea I really meant that I would go find a healer for the blisters, I hate blisters¡¡±
¡°No, I meant about learning how to fight without honor.¡±
¡°Yea, I have no need for honor in battle. If you¡¯re in a battle then someone obviously want you hurt badly or dead, why should you ever hold back against such people? ¡Why?¡±
¡°I have some experience in¡ such combat. I am no master but I know enough and I have contacts among people who know more. If you really want to learn I could get you started¡¡±
I stop and turn around to look at her.
She sure fits the part of a lowlife thug and I am sure she knows more than a few. Who is she, really? I mean I don¡¯t even know how someone like her got in here in the first place. The barracks may not be guarded but the palace that surrounds it is, very much so. There is also the fact that she walks around as if she owns the place and that this area is the commanders of the army¡¯s training area. So she should be a military officer of some sort.
¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I ask her to sate my curiosity.
¡°Millie. And you?¡±
¡°Haven¡¯t come up with one yet so call me whatever you like until I do. Very well, if you can teach me then I would be happy to learn from you Millie.¡±
----------
Late at night there is a gathering of servants, maids and cooks at one of the local pubs. They gather to do as servants do and spread some nice gossip to help them go through their boring day jobs.
They gossip about everything, from what food a noble woman disliked, to a soldier in love and of course the heroes. The servants almost compete with who has the best gossip about them.
They say that some are as young as 10 years old. One of them is a cute little girl who keeps hiding in the skirts of one of the older heroes and who is scared of sleeping alone.
There is talk about three scary heroes who beat up a nobleman who simply tried to give them some directions. Take note to stay away from those three.
Of course there are talks about the most handsome or pretty hero.
Then there are some more specific events. A few of the heroes needed help getting dressed which quickly became a big topic, especially among the men.
One hero didn¡¯t know his own name, was another big story. Was it because of the summoning?
A servant who worked in the kitchen told a story of a hero who all of a sudden sat down next to him and ate breakfast. A hero who ate with servants like it was normal, imagine that.
A cook told a horrible story of how he had tripped and spilled hot soup all over one of the heroes. But not only did the hero not demand for his head on a spit, he also took the blame for the whole incident. Granted now his job for the next few months was to scrub pots and pans but it sure beat getting hanged.
Some stable boy said that the Armorer was really not happy with one of the heroes. He was not only last to pick his armor, he also took a good long while and demanded a bunch of custom changes. Not to mention the fact that when it came for him to choose a weapon he picked a sword that belonged to the queen and refused any other. Eventually he left without picking a weapon at all.
There was some talk of a hero that was too ashamed too weak to keep up with the other heroes in training but it was not as interesting as other gossips.
----------
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Chapter 5: Magic and going to a bar.
Chapter 5
¡°So, meet me here at sunset and we can get started.¡±
¡°Why at sunset?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±
I left the barracks, thinking that I might as well check up on the others so I don¡¯t fall too far behind. I have already missed a magic lesson after all. On my way to the castle I see hank doing his rounds.
¡°Hey Hank! Do you know where the heroes are gathered today?¡±
¡°They should be on the third floor where they are getting instructed in the use of magic. Do you need me to guide you there?¡±
¡°No I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m finally starting to get used to the layout of the castle.¡± I wave him off as I head inside.
20 minutes later I finally give up and ask a maid to direct me to the others. They are in a typical oversized room, as big as a basketball court. The room is not as extravagantly decorated as the others I¡¯ve seen so far, instead it has blackboards and bookshelves covering all walls but one, which is reinforced with metal plates. There are a few targets and manikins there as well. Benches clad in leather and gold have been placed around the room for the heroes to sit on as they listen to the instructors who have spread out among the blackboards.
After I enter I take a seat near the door. Listening in for a while I can somewhat understand the situation. The magic instructors all seem to have their own specialty: fire-, water-, wind-, earth-, lightning-, healing-, enchanting-, druidic-, spiritual- and holy-magic. The heroes have been told to split up and learn what they want to rather than learn everything at once. It¡¯s a really good idea in my opinion. This way we will become proficient in one type of magic to a great degree which will help us learn other types later with fewer problems. There is also the problem that every type of magic is different to some degree and learning them all will only make it more complicated than it is. Kind of like learning several different languages at the same time, it¡¯s easy to mix up the grammar.
Most of the heroes have joined the fire and lightning magic instructors. Those have the most obvious offensive power. Water and healing magic is second most popular and most of the girls are drawn to those. Third most popular is the wind, holy and enchanting magic. Then there are some weirdos who cater to the druidic and spiritual magic. Lastly is earth magic, which is empty. Apparently dirt, stone and mud don¡¯t really sound good to the heroes, can¡¯t imagine why.
Personally I would like to learn some essentials for surviving before I start doing cool stuff. Since I have no intention of fighting I will most likely have to run away at some point. Learning magic that will make life on the run easier is probably a good idea. What I need is water, food, shelter and a way to avoid pursuers.
Water magic is obvious, food ¡ not so much, shelter would be earth and to avoid pursuers would probably be something obscure like spiritual or druidic magic. I need more information about those but for now I might as well learn the more obvious. So I get up and go to talk to the earth magic instructor.
He is laying down on a bench next to a black board with the words ¡°Earth magic!¡± on it with a book over his head. I take it that when no one approached him to learn he got depressed and took a nap.
¡°Excuse me?¡± I say as I approach him. Not getting a response I try to wake him up. ¡°Hey¡ wake up.¡± Still not getting a response I do what I think all of us would have done and I pushed him a little. Not hard or anything just enough to make him fall down from the bench and with a panicked ¡°Woahh!¡± smack into the floor.
Dazed he laid there for a little bit trying to get his bearings before getting to his feet, his face red with anger and shame.
¡°What the, who dares? You? Do you know who I am!? Eh!?¡± He angrily points his finger at me.
¡°Sorry, I guess I will just learn from some other earth magic user then.¡± I say and turn to leave. If he rather sleeps then teach then he can go back to his sleep.
¡°L-learn? O-oh! Wait, you are a hero? I didn¡¯t see you at the gathering earlier.¡±
¡°That¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t there, I was busy.¡± Getting some sleep.
¡°I see. So you want to learn from me... my lord?¡±
¡°First I would like to know more about earth magic. What it can be used for and what makes it different from other magic.¡±
¡°Well that is an easy question to answer. Earth magic is the ability to manipulate and control earth.¡± He says with a satisfied smile on his face. I can¡¯t help but give out a sigh. Please don¡¯t tell me everyone here is an idiot.
¡°Okay what is earth?¡± I ask him in a slightly annoyed voice.
¡°Eh?¡± And I get a confused look back.
¡°Let me rephrase my question, what is it in the earth that you can manipulate?¡±
¡°Oh, right. Uhum! Well it depends on the spell really¡¡± And he starts to list a number of different spells and what they do.
Seriously!? I am starting to think that this guy only knows spells and not how they work. Is this what a mage is in this world? Like a person who knows how to microwave fast food, but have no idea of how to actually cook anything or what¡¯s in it.
¡°Okay stop, just stop. Let¡¯s take a step back shall we? Since I was not here last time can you tell me what you guys talked about. Like what is magic really? Where and how did you people learn magic in the first place? Things like that.¡±
¡°Ehm, I guess I can do that.¡± He looks a bit upset that I interrupted his listing of spells.
In a voice like reading a textbook he starts to explain.
¡°Magic is all around us. It surrounds everything that exist weather alive or dead. There have been plenty of researchers who have tried to figure out the true answer to what magic actually is but as far as I know no one have found a concrete answer. What we do know is that magic comes in three different forms. The first is the dormant form. That is what fills the world. It can¡¯t be seen or touched but if you have proper training you can feel it, like a heat source.
The second form is called ¡®Mana¡¯. Mana is condensed magic that we mages spend our lives collecting. It is the source from which we form our spells, the third form of magic. Mages use their soul as a vessel within them can collect the mana. The soul is almost like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it become, allowing it to hold more mana.
However just like your muscles, there is a limit to how much it can grow. Over the years there have been several discoveries when it comes to alternative ways of holding mana for example the use of crystals. Precious gems are able to serve as a mana vessel after undergoing certain enchantments. There are also some who use living vessels like a familiar that can house additional mana within them. There has not only been advancement in the storage of mana itself but also in the way it can be used.
Before we could at most do some chants to increase the power of a spell but now we can use various tools to help our spell casting. Things like the magic circles which greatly increases not only the power of the spell but also the possibilities of its use. Then there are our magic robes that have been greatly enchanted to give us protection against magical effect, saving many a mages lives. There are the staffs we use to enhance our spells. Not to mention the greatest discovery of them all, the Grimoire. It is a way to prepare a great many spells beforehand that can be activated with much less effort and a much reduced strain on a mages mana reserve. It truly is the greatest invention in the history of magic, combining the knowledge of mana vessel¡¯s and magic circles to form the ultimate tool.¡± The mage sighs and stares of into the distance as he dreams of owning such a thing himself one day.
I was a little impressed, even if what he had told me was pretty much what I expected. There were some small things that stood out from it all, like the three forms of magic, the idea of the soul being the vessel with which to hold the mana and the idea of a familiar being used as an additional mana vessel. Still I find his explanation a bit lacking¡
¡°And how does one become a mage exactly?¡±
¡°Oh that is easy, first you need to gain the blessing of an elemental but since you are a hero you already have been blessed by all of them when you were summoned so you don¡¯t have to worry about that. Then you have to become aware of the mana within you. Normally this process is long and tiresome, involving long hours of meditation and cultivation as the student have to condense mana until they can actually feel it. But we will use a shortcut where I will force my own mana through your body and make a space in your soul which can be used as a starting point. This will make you able to start condensing mana right away, skipping months of meditation.¡±
¡°¡What¡¯s the catch?¡±
¡°Well, if I mess it up then your soul will tear and you could die. There is also a risk that it will backfire and your soul will start rejecting mana. There have even been reports of a person¡¯s mental state getting affected, changing them as if they were a different person. There is no need to worry though, I have extensive experience, and I even helped out with some of your fellow heroes.¡±
I¡¯m not going to say I was all for the idea. In fact I did not trust this guy in the slightest and to have him tinker with my soul¡ I can¡¯t help but having a bad feeling. However¡ the thought of learning magic trumps my fear, if only by a tiny bit.
All the other heroes went through the same thing the day before while I was sleeping and they don¡¯t seem to have had any complications. I say that but I don¡¯t know them well enough to tell even if they had completely changed personalities.
After reluctantly giving my consent he has me sit down on the bench as he take position behind me.
¡°Now then try to relax, and focus on the feeling of my mana coursing through your body.¡± He says and puts his hands on my shoulders.
The feeling was like suddenly jumping in to a cold lake. I felt my body contract and tense up. Remembering that I have to relax I take a few deep breaths. My vision is distorted, as if someone was playing around with different colored lenses I see in blue one second and yellow then next. All light sources in the room seem to have become like shining suns hurting my eyes. All I can hear is the sound of my own blood rushing to my head. My body tingles with hot and cold in waves, first only on skin level then going deeper.
I can actually feel my blood flowing through my veins. I can feel how it picks up the oxygen in my lungs and delivers it all the way out to my fingertips. Time seem to slow down as my senses are enhanced to their absolute limit. I imagine that I can even feel the electric impulses traveling throughout my body, telling my lungs to breathe, my heart to beat and my eyes to see. As if far away I hear the mage speak to me.
¡°Good.. I will¡ now¡ enter your¡ soul¡ remember¡ to focus¡ on the¡ mana¡¡±
As he say this I feel the waves of hot and cold start to gather within my stomach, right behind my navel. My senses grow duller once more and I feel the gathered mana start to travel deeper within me. At first I was thinking that it would penetrate my back but it seemed to continue deeper, as if I had no back. The feeling of the mana grew warmer as it slowly approached what I suppose would be my soul. As I felt the gathered mana get closer and closer to my soul I first thought it was very tiny. It gave of a feeling of a small glass figurine, hard and cold. Soon however I realized that it was not a tiny thing at all. It was only far away. Logic no longer applied. My soul which seemingly was inside of me was bigger than I could imagine. Shaped like a child in the womb it floated there, inside of me.
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As the mana finally connected with the soul I felt a jolt go through my mind, like a needle pricking my finger. A dull aching pain spread and I could not help but think that something might have gone wrong. The mana however did not stop but burrowed itself inside of my soul¡¯s stomach right behind the navel. There it seemed to dig around, creating a small space for the future mana to rest, before leaving my body and slowly traveling back to my body. I focused on the path the mana took, on the feeling I felt as it traveled from my soul back to my body.
As the mana finally disappeared I opened my eyes, not knowing that I had closed them. My body was soaked in sweat and the dull ache was still there.
¡°Ah it was a success.¡± The mage said while drawing deep breaths.
As I look around I see that all the other heroes have left and we are alone in the room. A quick look out the high window told me the sun was already setting.
¡°Damn it! I¡¯m going to be late.¡± I say as I get up a bit too quickly and stumble around a bit as blood rush to my head.
¡°Calm down its best if you rest¡¡±
More than that I did not hear as I was already out the door. I had an appointment after all. Even if I am normally a rather lazy person I do not like breaking promises. While I hurry down the stairs I can still feel that dull pain from when the mana entered my soul. Hopefully it will heal and go away after I get some rest.
It would be quite some time later when I realized that something had indeed gone wrong.
When I finally make it out to the barracks the sun has already set at the horizon. I find Millie still waiting for me leaned up against the low wall.
¡°So you finally bothered to show, eh?¡± She is obviously a bit annoyed.
¡°Yea, sorry about that. I was hold back by one of the magic instructors.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine let¡¯s just go. I was hoping to get there early but¡ it is as it is.¡± She sighed and started to take me away from the castle.
¡°So, where are we going?¡±
¡°If you want to learn how to fight there are a few things you should do first. We are going to do those things. Just shut up and follow me.¡±
I guess she really hates waiting on people. I mean I was only about 15-20 minutes late, it¡¯s not that bad is it? Especially since they don¡¯t have clocks around here.
I keep quiet and follow her. Since this is the first time I get a proper look at the city I can¡¯t really complain.
The city in question is really a beautiful city. Everything is ornate and preplanned. The streets all create a constant pattern which is easy to follow and understand. All roads lead to the main road in the middle which in turn lead to the castle. It¡¯s all laid out so that the biggest houses are closer to the main road and the castle while they get lower and lower the further they are from there. The roofs are all rather flat, only slanting a bit towards the castle. This would make them rather ugly if it wasn¡¯t for the extravagant carvings in the stones everywhere. It was as if the white stone was alive and moving in intricate patterns. On ground level there wasn¡¯t that much carvings but all you had to do was raise your head and a truly wonder¡¯s sight would enter your vision. There stone trees, birds and angles was be depicted in various scenes.
The whole city was filled with them making it feel as an exhibition of a famous artist rather than an actual city. The theme of the carvings even changed depending on where you were in the city. The closer to the walls you found yourself the more the carvings showed devils and soldiers lurking among the stone, some so well made you wondered if they was real or not. On the other hand around the markets there were more lively carvings of flying pigs, laughing dryads and pixies playing tricks. Among the smiths there were Statues of dwarves and carvings of elves working at forges. Every carving was more fantastic then the next.
As we walked I found myself finding more and more enjoyment in the sculptures that was all over the place. So much so that when we arrived I felt disappointed that I could not continue walking among them.
¡°We are here.¡± Millie said and entered a one story building. We were in the far reaches of the city, as far away from the castle we could come. As I entered I immediately regretted coming here.
The inside of the building was rowdy, filled with the stench of beer and sweat and filth. The floor was covered in straw and the benches and tables made from rough wood. It was a tavern or maybe a pub.
After entering Millie walked up to the barman who seemed to know her and pulled him aside. After short conversation and a few coins changing hands, she came back and led me to a table.
I have told you this before but I am not the kind of person who have ever stepped foot in a bar before so I really felt out of place here. Everything stank and the people were not the types I would ever in my life want to associate with. From the looks some of them gave me I was sure that by the end of the night I would have been robbed of my clothes and everything else I have of value. If it wasn¡¯t for Millie¡¯s presence I believe that would already have happened.
¡°Why are we here?¡± I ask her in a hushed voice.
¡°We are getting a drink! Bartender! Four of your finest ale!¡± She shouts out.
A short time later the bartender comes up with four giant metal mugs filled to the brim with ale.
Millie puts one in front of me. ¡°Drink!¡± Is all she tells me before she starts to chug hers down. I taste it and frankly it¡¯s not for me. I know I know most people love beer and ale and stuff like that but I just don¡¯t like the taste of it. Not wanting to be rude I force myself to drink half of it before I confront her again.
¡°So are you going to tell me why the hell we are here? I thought you were going to teach me how to fight, not drink.¡±
After giving out a big belch she suddenly roars out: ¡°What the hell is this rat piss you¡¯re serving!? You call this your finest ale? It tastes like you actually took a long fucking piss in the barrel!¡± It didn¡¯t end there. As she loudly complains she starts to wave around one of the ale mugs, spreading ale all over the place.
What!? Don¡¯t say that, you¡¯re going to get us in trouble!
¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing!? Calm the duck down! We are drying to drink in peace here.¡± One of the customers gets up and yells at her. He looks like a true drinker, beer belly and all. However Millie¡
¡°Shut up piggy!¡±
Oh fuck, I should have stayed at the castle¡
And as you could expect that sort of set everything in motion. Before I even realized what was going on Millie sent her now rather empty mug flying in to the drunks face, causing his friends to immediately join in the fight. That was not the problem though. The problem was when Millie shouted: ¡°come on let¡¯s show these pigs how to dance!¡± while literally throwing me in the face of the closest one. I am not going to pretend that I was not afraid. I was terrified. My whole body froze up and my heart felt like it wanted to break out of my chest and run away. However that was cured after I got my face smashed a few times.
I remember trying to tell the man who kept hitting me to wait. That it was all a misunderstanding and that if anything I had nothing to do with the crazy bitch. But when all that failed and he wouldn¡¯t listen I eventually started to get angry at the man and so I punched back. After that I can¡¯t really tell what happened. There was fists flying everywhere, mugs were crushed against faces and chairs were broken over backs. Somehow I managed to stay conscious for most of it. That is, until Millie sent a giant of a man flying towards me and I lost my balance and hit my head on one of the tables.
When I finally awoke I found myself in the stables, next to a loudly snoring Millie. The sun had just risen over the horizon bathing me in its warm light. I slowly got up, my body ached everywhere and I was stinking of dried in beer. My clothes were ripped and dirtied, my face swollen and my body bruised. I checked to see if I had broken any bones but it seemed as if everything was more or less intact. Locking over where Millie was sleeping I could see that she was in a much better state. Apart from the smell she only had a small cut on her cheek to show for last night¡¯s brawl.
¡°Fucking bitch, what was that good for? Dragging me to bar so I could get my face ruined?¡± I mutter to myself as I go and dip my head in a water barrel outside the stable. Seeing a bucket I let out a little smile and fill it up. I empty it over Millie¡¯s snoring face and get a satisfying panicked outburst as she wakes up.
¡°What the hell was that good for?¡± She screams at me as she spits out water.
¡°That¡¯s my fucking question! What the hell was that for yesterday? I thought you were going to teach me how to fight, not how to get beaten to a pulp by drunks in a bar! And why did we have to go at night anyway?¡±
¡°You wanted to learn how to fight so I took you out to fight, what¡¯s wrong with that!? Learn by doing, it¡¯s what I always done and we went at night because that¡¯s when the good fighters gather. It¡¯s not training if it¡¯s easy, now is it?¡±
¡°You could have warned me! I told you before that I have never fought before, do you have any idea of how scary that was for me?¡±
¡°Hyahaha, yea I saw you shaking in your boots, that¡¯s why I gave you a little help.¡±
¡°Help? HELP!? You threw me at the scariest guy in there!¡±
¡°Oh yea! Haha you kept telling him ¡®Wait¡ sorry¡ please stop¡¡¯ while he kept punching you. I almost thought it would end right there, until you snapped. I almost didn¡¯t believe it when you actually knocked that big pig out like that.¡±
¡°Well¡ it wasn¡¯t as if he gave me much of a choice now did he? ¡°
¡°Come; let¡¯s go get our wounds healed. I happen to know a healer not far from here who can fix us right up. Might be good for you to know where he lives in the future¡¡±
¡°Wait what? Are you planning on me needing to know where a healer is located in the near future?¡±
¡°Well¡¡± She trails off and leaves the stable.
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Chapter 6: A bad day.
Millie took me to a healer, hidden away in a building that was more of a rundown hovel then a livable building. Why a healer had taken residence in such a place I soon found out.
¡°Coming in!¡± Millie rudely expressed as she slammed open the door which instantly fell apart into several pieces, spreading dust and dried mold through the air. I had doubts about entering such a place but Millie was already barging in without concern.
¡°What are you doing to my door?¡± The voice of a man came from further within. His voice was not angry, not even annoyed more like he was calm, curious and genuinely wanted to know. A door that seemed to lead down in to a basement opened and a man come up dressed in a once upon-a-time white robe, now gray or brownish from innumerable stains.
¡°Please tell me he is not the healer you were talking about¡¡± I mutter to Millie.
¡°Why? He is good I promise, helped me several times in the past. And he is really cheap too, only wanting to pray for you and stuff like that. It¡¯s kind of his thing.¡±
¡°So, he is a priest or something like that?¡±
¡°Yes, I am something like that.¡± The man interrupts us and approaches.
¡°Danny, good to see you again.¡± Millie smiles and clasps hands with Danny.
¡°Ah, Millie is it. I see you have had some problems again, yes? The goddess will not be happy.¡±
¡°When is she ever happy? Anyway me and¡ my friend here would like to make use of your services if that is alright.¡±
¡°Of course. Please follow me.¡± He says and leads us down into the basement.
Millie grabs my arm and more or less drags me with her as she descends. The basement is brighter than I expected it. At some point in time the roof had collapsed and let in some sunlight. In the brightness of the morning sky there was a type of altar. It was a simple altar, merely a wooden symbol on a table covered with a white cloth. The symbol was that of a single stalk of wheat growing from a human hand.
After we entered man went toward the altar and bent his head in prayer for a short time before asking us to kneel in front of the altar of his god. Following Millie¡¯s lead I kneel and Danny places his hands unto our heads.
¡°Oh goddess Mira. Of birth, harvest and life. Turn thy gaze upon these of us less fortunate. Let them bask in thy light and feel thy warmth. Grant them relief from that which ails them. For thee is the graze of all life. Life to live.¡± And as he finishes his prayer the light seem to intensify and a very warm and comfortable feeling spreads throughout my body. What surprised me was not only how big of an effect there was but also how quickly it was over. In less than a minute my wounds were healed, my body returning to normal and all pains and aches left me. As the light returned to normal I could not help myself from looking around in amazement.
¡°Wow, if this is how a miracle is like then, even I would become a true believer¡¡±
¡°Ha, this is nothing! A true miracle would be terrain altering or bringing life to a dead person and stuff like that. Curing some minor blemishes is not even worth mentioning haha!¡± Millie laughs at me and stands up.
¡°Heh, you don¡¯t understand Millie. Where I am from there is no influence of any type of god. You could say that in my world ¡®god¡¯ is forever asleep.¡±
¡°Then how do you know they exist?¡±
¡°Hehe, that¡¯s the question isn¡¯t it? Plenty of people believe in the words of ancient testaments and stories of dead people who claim that either a single god or several gods once upon a time walked on the earth or spoke to them or some shit like that. Plenty of women have, over the ages, claimed that their child was conceived by a god and stuff like that but let¡¯s be honest, they were most likely full of shit.¡±
¡°¡Your world is rather strange isn¡¯t it? If the gods don¡¯t show themselves then how can they gain believers?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just say that where I come from people are idiots and do stupid things for stupid reasons and leave it at that, ok?¡±
¡°If you say so¡¡±
During our conversation Danny has turned his back on us and is silently praying to himself. He really doesn¡¯t seem to mind that I think the way I think. He didn¡¯t even react when I said I was from another world.
¡°So what do we do now?¡± I ask Millie as a few minutes pass.
¡°Just wait for him to finish his thing and then we deal with the payment.¡±
¡°¡payment? I¡¯m broke¡¡±
¡°Ah don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not gold or anything like that, it¡¯s just a reading and a prayer thing.¡±
¡°What¡¯s a reading?¡±
¡°It¡¯s something like looking back and seeing what you have done and looking forward to see what you will probably do, or something like that. Then he prays and Mira does stuff. It¡¯s nothing bad really, just¡¡±
She did not get the chance to continue further as Danny finally turned around.
¡°Now then, let¡¯s do a reading. Millie, let¡¯s have you do it first, to show your friend that it¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±
¡°Sure.¡± She responds and kneels in front of him once more.
He places his hand on top of her head and turns his head toward the open sky. The light grows brighter around them and he starts to mumble a prayer in a language I do not know. It sounded like a chanting gibberish to me and if it wasn¡¯t for the fluctuations in the light around them I would have regarded it to be the same religious nonsense from my world. However with such a simple thing I had no doubt that his god was a real one. I look a little awestruck for a moment until I snap out of it and curse myself for being too easily swayed into believing such crap.
How do I know it¡¯s the so called God who is creating the light? For all I know it could be a simple light spell or something like that. As if the god¡¯s would use their power so easily, hah! Its fine to have an open mind but you should not be swayed too easily into believing in gods and such. That is how fanatics are created and I sure as hell don¡¯t want to be a fanatic.
I observe the two once more with a critical eye. Danny is clearly concentrating, probably on a spell rather than a prayer. The chant might be needed to cast the spell itself and have nothing at all to do with any god. The more I think about it, this guy is clearly just a healer using magic. Not some miracle worker in service of a god.
Good now that I have confirmed my suspicions I feel much better. This is just magic. Nothing to worry about. I bet even I can learn it eventually. In fact the healing is something that all heroes will need sooner or later so learning that is a priority.
¡°Oh benevolent Mira, hear my prayer. Take this child in your hands and guide her towards the right path. Grant her the will to travel upon the treacherous road that leads towards happiness. Welcome her with warmth and kindness as she ends her arduous work. Give on to her the strength she needs in moments of exhaustion. Your light shall show her the way.¡± As Danny finishes his prayer the light flashes and disappears. I can¡¯t help but think that the sfx in this world is a bit lacking.
Millie stands up and Danny whispers some words in her ear before she walks to me.
¡°Your turn. Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s easy, just kneel and he will do the rest.¡± Her voice sounds almost a little choked up. As if she is holding back tears.
Looking at her with slight suspicion I take a deep breath and do as I am told, not really expecting anything at all to happen. I kneel in front of Danny and he places his warm hand on my head. Contrary to my expectation something really did happen.
As Danny starts his chant once more my mind wanders to my past.
How I, in my childhood, moved around a bunch, preventing me from forming solid friendship with anyone. Getting used to spending my time alone until that was all I knew how to do.
How tried to fit in as a joker, only to realize that people looked down on me.
How my studies never went above average and how I gave up on everything many, many times.
How I started to read, and found enjoyment in the books. How I found acceptance with in the world of nerds and gamers.
I saw all those times when my family ignored my interests, thinking they were below them. When I lost my job, time and time again. When I wondered why life is so hard.
How I got angry at myself and how I could not simply find my place in the world. How I got angry at that world for not making room for me. I saw myself sitting for long hours doing nothing but thinking about all the whys. Why am I here? Why have I no friends? Why doesn¡¯t anyone understand me? Why can¡¯t I find my place? I thought about a lot of things back then. Now I once more remember the answer is found. The reason why I am the way I am.
The answer was that I had become lazy, unmotivated and afraid.
Simply doing nothing was easier than making an effort to change so I did nothing. The worst part about it was that people accepted the fact that I did nothing, as if it was normal. And so I became lazy.
I was unmotivated, because I had failed at everything, or at least never succeeded in anything. Why try when you know you will never succeed? And so I became unmotivated to do anything that was not required of me.
And I became afraid. Fearing that people would look away from me, and for them to look at me, I found myself in some sort of limbo where all I wanted to do was to hide myself away. And when the chance came for me to do that, I embraced it. Like a freezing man putting his hands in to a fire.
Thinking about it I was always aware of the fact that all I needed was to open up. Rather than to hide away who I was. I should have, from the beginning, showed them what I really liked and that all I really wanted was to share it with them. Even if they never wanted to join me I still should have been open about it instead of hiding it away as if it was something to be ashamed of.
As I had flashbacks to my life I started to think about all those times when I could have done things differently. All the times when I chose to be alone rather than to join others. I found that the reason I am the way I am, is not because my family moving around when I was a kid. Not because I was bullied in school and frozen out. It was not because my family did not accept me. The reason I am who I am is because I chose it. I made the choice to push others away. To be alone rather than seeking companionship. No wonder my greatest wish was to start over. And look at me now, doing it all over again. I realize that I am judging everyone around me, thinking that they are not worth my attention. As if I was someone special I look down on everyone else.
And just like that my mind went blank for a moment before it looked to the future. To whom I probably will become. Pushing everyone away will make me alone. Unable to get the courage to seek employment I will become poor. I will lose all my possessions in order to get food. Soon enough I will become a beggar, not willing to work I will simply fade away¡
But then I felt as if a hand on my shoulder directed me to a different path. A path where I would give up on who I am and my dreams in favor for that which I need. One where I would find work. I would work harder than anyone else, longer than the rest. I would be appreciated and loved by others. I would find my place in life. No longer would I be alone and helpless. No longer would I feel ashamed over who I am. All I needed to do was to change¡
In the world I came from I was on my last straw. Never ending days and nights of trying to forget all the things I needed, all that I wanted. In that world a change that would make me a hard worker would be the best¡
But not here. This world is not the one I came from. Here there are all kinds of possibilities. Here there are paths I can take without giving up on who I am and what I dream about. In fact, here my dreams can all be realized. How? Because here there is Magic!
With that thought I pushed away from Danny and fell backwards. He looks down on me with surprise.
¡°Don¡¯t push away from the goddess, let her guide you to the right path.¡± He says in haste and extends his hand towards me.
¡°Goddess my ass! You want to take away who I am, change me to some mindless drone of society? Fuck you! I will go my own path in this world, so you can take your ¡°guidance¡± and shove it up your ass!¡± I scream at him and scramble to my feet. It is clear to me that this priest was just about to do something to me that is unforgivable. He was about to brainwash me in to becoming something I am not.
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While I might not like who I am that doesn¡¯t give him the right to change me. Brainwashing bastard! By changing who I am you might as well kill me and replace me with someone else.
He made me furious and if Millie hadn¡¯t put a hand on my shoulder as I was screaming at Danny then who knows what I would have done.
¡°Let go of me Millie.¡± I shrug her off and turn to leave. After saying a quick goodbye and thanks to Danny she hurried after me.
¡°What¡¯s with you all of a sudden? Did something happen?¡± She asks me as we leave up the stairs.
¡°That fucker and his god not only poked around in my head but then they tried to brainwash me! Like I was some fucking robot that didn¡¯t do what I was supposed to! Bastard.¡± I swear and stomp my way out of the building. Millie was confused over my behavior and why I was so angry. Maybe to her it was normal to have priests poke around inside your head. If that is the case then this world is fucked up, and I refuse to be a part of that shit.
After leaving the building I looked around thinking about what to do next. The answer came, as it often does, from my stomach.
¡°You know where we can get something to eat?¡± I ask Millie.
¡°Yea, this way.¡± She says and leads the way.
After eating we went our separate ways. She had duties to deal with, what I don¡¯t know, while I wanted to go back to the castle and speak with the mage. After I left so suddenly last time I probably missed a bunch of things I needed to know and it¡¯s time to find out what.
Thanks to the clear design of the city it was surprisingly easy for me to make it back to the castle on my own. As I had been deep in thoughts about events that took place this morning and the day before I had not been paying much attention to them and as such I was really surprised as the guards of the castle gate stepped in front of me, stopping me from entering.
¡°Halt!¡± They told me while signaling me to stop. A little confused I blinked and looked around to see what was going on.
¡°This is no place for you! Go back to where you came from.¡± They firmly told me.
¡No place for me? What are they talking about...? Oh!
I look down on myself. My clothes are all dirty and stinks of dried ale, beer, wine and sweat from the night before and there are still pieces of straw stuck here and there from sleeping in the hay. Over all I look like a homeless drunk. Not really the hero they expected to see I suppose. While I in hindsight could understand why they stopped me, at the time I was still in a horrible mood. Normally I would have been humble towards authority, thinking that even if they misunderstood it is always better to give in at first and clear it all up at a later time. But right now I was angry and I had all right to enter the castle. In fact the only reason I was even in this world was their will. So I got mad.
¡°Oh I see, so now I am not even allowed inside the castle huh? Well then maybe you could send a message for me then? Tell, what¡¯s his face¡ Uhh¡ Hank? Yes Hank! Give hank a message for me. Tell him this, word for word:
¡®I¡¯m in desperate need of your help, Hank. You see I made a terrible mistake and stopped one of the heroes from entering the castle, and now I fear that he will talk to the knight commander or perhaps even his majesty himself about having me removed from my position. I fear that not only may I lose my job but I will probably be punished on top of it all. Perhaps I will be thrown in prison or maybe even whipped in public as a warning for other not to repeat my mistake. The hero looked really angry; I think I will be lucky if it ends with just a few whiplashes. Depending on the hero¡¯s words I might actually be executed for this. So I beg you Hank, please have a word with the hero and beg for his forgiveness in my stead!¡¯¡±
The more I talked the paler the guards became. It was rather satisfying to see the proud guards of the castle shrink before me like that. I had never felt so overwhelming before and I reveled in the feeling. As the guards had become white as sheets and stared at me with fear and desperation I had the feeling that they might do something silly if I didn¡¯t show them a way out of the situation. Not wanting to know how desperate, highly armed men with combat training would act in order to avoid execution, I decided to throw them a bone.
¡°Did you get all that? Perhaps the message is a bit long to repeat the whole thing word for word now that I think about it. Are you sure I can¡¯t just go in and tell him myself?¡±
¡°Eh¡ I think we might as well let you inside to give your message¡¡± They hesitantly said while looking at each other. Surly they feared I would act upon the threat anyway but they were smart enough to realize that this was their only choice.
¡°Excellent! Well then gentlemen, let¡¯s forget about this incident and get on with our day shall we?¡± I say in my most aristocratic tone and stride past them in to the castle. Not long after passing them I could hear them collapsing with deep sigh of relief. Smiling to myself I make my way to my room, asking a passing maid if I could have a bath brought and readied. Even if it was fun to mess with the guards I had no intention of doing that again.
When I get to my room I find a pleasant surprise awaiting me. First are several shirts, pants and shoes that have been readied. I am really happy that while they are in excellent material they don¡¯t look overly decorated nor do they have any of the idiotic ¡°puffs¡±. The clothes are all nice and well but what really got me excited was the manikin that had been placed in front of the balcony. The armor I had ordered had finally been finished. I say finally but let¡¯s be honest here; it was probably done way faster than it normally would have been. However I have no knowledge of such things so for me it was a long few days of waiting.
The armorer had listened to my wishes and colored it with bland and earthy colors. All the leather was left as such while the metal had been made mate and as for decorations they mostly involved some fancy line work rather than flashy colors. Under the leather were plates of metal to stop things like crossbow bolts and such. The design was a lot more practical than any of the armors I had seen displayed when I visited the armorer. While it looked like simple light leather it was rather hefty and gave good support, with it being padded at the back and knee area.
Just like I wanted, it would be easy to move around in and I would not have to worry about my environment hindering my movements much. Even if the ground was covered in class shards I could more or less roll around on it as if it was a field of flowers as long as I took care of my face.
It might sound silly but you would be surprised of the amount of inconveniences this will eliminate. Things like: getting knocked on my back, kneeling, rolling, throwing myself away from danger, climbing, grabbing and punching will no problem from here on out. Although I wanted to put it all on right away and test it out I had no use of it at the moment. Instead I waited for the bath to be readied while reading a bit in the poem book. It didn¡¯t make much sense but poems rarely do. It was something about the sun becoming two and the water getting filled with mud. Nonsense in my mind but I had nothing better to do while I waited.
Soon enough though the servants knocked on my door and brought in a wooden tub and started to fill it. When I was asked if I required assistance in washing myself, from one of the maids, I promptly chased them out of the room and made sure to lock it.
Shameless maids and their ideas¡
I think to myself as I get in and start to wash of all the dirt. Once I finished I put on a new pair of leather pants and shoes along with a silk shirt, the one with least amount of embroidery.
¡°I really have to have a chat with the tailor before the end of the day.¡± I mutter and leave the room to find the mage from before.
When I found the old mage he was, much like last time I met him, sleeping on a bench with a book over his head. And much like last time I smiled to myself and tipped the bench over resulting in some satisfying panicked screaming and waving of his arms as he fell to the floor.
¡°God¡¯s damn you boy!¡± He cursed me as he scrambled to his feet. ¡°Can¡¯t you wake an old man with some care? Think of my old bones!¡±
¡°If you wanted to take care of your bones then go sleep in your bed! Not on a bench in the hall.¡±
¡°I would love to but my room is a bit¡ well let¡¯s just say it¡¯s not for sleeping in right now. So I sleep wherever I want to, know if you are done bothering me I¡¯d like to get back to it.¡± He said and once again lies down on the bench.
¡°Ohy! I thought you were supposed to teach me! I had to run off before but now I got most of the day to spend so¡¡±
¡°So what? You think just because you have time to learn I have time to teach? Lousy brat waking me in my free time when I have been¡¡± And he goes off rambling for a while.
This guy¡ Here I thought people summoned us because it was their hour of need, their last hope and stuff like that, and here he stands, well lies, and tells me he is not going to teach me? What is wrong with these people!?
As I stand there listening to the old mage grumbling about this and that I feel the anger from before surfacing once more. Eventually I cracked.
¡°SHUT UP ALREADY! You ignorant, idiotic shit! Do you think I fucking chose to be here? Was it not YOU who summoned me here? Was it not YOU who told me to learn how to fight? And now you are telling me that you will not teach me because you are sleepy? FUCK YOU! Since that is the case I no longer want to learn your damn magic! In fact I no longer want to help you guys out at all. Hell you seem to be unconcerned over the so called sea of demons that is on the way to destroy mankind and all that, so why should I give a shit? Maybe I should have a chat with the rest of us heroes and we will simply leave you all to fend for your own damn lives. Stupid fucking shitty ¡¡± And I turn around a leaves while cursing loudly. The old mage stares after me, regret filling his eyes.
Fuming with anger I traversed the castle looking for something to vent it out on. The maids and servants had experience enough to stay out of my way and unfortunately there was no sky nosed noble around. As I eventually ran out of steam I found myself heading for the castle garden. There I went to my favorite spot and finally lay down with a sigh.
This day suck¡
I thought to myself. Taking some deep breaths I found myself thinking of other days that have sucked in my life. Days when I was alone and everything around me went wrong. Days when I was blamed for others mistake. Days when wrath and anger made me make mistakes and got me in trouble.
Calming down I found myself whistling a tune from a game I once played in my past. It was the main theme for a game that I really enjoyed. ¡®A place to return to someday¡¯ I believe the title was. It is a rather sad tune but I have always liked whistling it for some reason. And so I lay there in the grass, a slight wind brought the fragrance of herbs and flowers that surrounded me.
The clouds in the sky formed their abstract shapes and I found myself relaxing. Unfortunately it was not to last. Not long after laying down I heard a woman¡¯s voice called out to me.
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Chapter 7: Chat in the garden.
Chapter 7
¡°Excuse me.¡±
I look up only to see an upside down view of a vaguely familiar woman. Dressed in a frilly yellow dress she is looking down at me from the entrance to the circle where I am currently resting.
¡°Pardon me but do you happen to be one of the heroes?¡± She asks me in a very aristocratic tone of voice.
¡°Yes.¡± I answer simply.
¡°Ah good then I would like to have a moment of your time, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±
I give a small sigh before I agree. She is too polite to turn down for no reason.
¡°Sure, I have nothing better to do right now.¡±
¡°Splendid.¡± She exclaims and swiftly joins me as I sit up. ¡°Now I have yet to have a chat with you so if you would not mind, could you tell me your name?¡±
¡°Yes, I would mind since it doesn¡¯t suit this world. If you wonder how to call me then just call me whatever you like until I make a name for myself¡¡±
Or will I die before I even figure out a decent name?
She looks at me a bit confused but is quick to accept it. ¡°Hmm¡ I see.¡± Is all she says.
¡°Well never mind that. I was walking around the garden just now when I heard a rather strange tune and, thinking it was a bird of some kind, I went to have a look only to find you here. Was that you who played that wondrous melody?¡±
I blink in surprise. ¡°You have never heard someone whistle before?¡± I ask and let out some simple tones.
¡°Whistle? Isn¡¯t that what the Knight Commander sometimes does to the soldiers when he wants to get their attention? But that is loud and sharp and hurt my ears. Not at all as soft as what you do. Why is that?¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? It¡¯s because I didn¡¯t want to whistle loud and sharp. Just like you can shout, or whisper with your voice, you can control the power and tone when you whistle. It¡¯s easy.¡±
¡°Ah I see. Yes, when you put it like that it makes perfect sense.¡±
She ponders what I have said for some time and as she do I take a second look at her. She is in her late teens, probably 16-18 years old, pretty but not beautiful, with overly arranged artificially curled hair which has some flowers arranged in it. I am guessing she is a Noble''s daughter by her presence here as well as her attire, it looking to be made in order to have attention drawn to her. Not in a sexy way, mind you, but rather in its intricate design. Even my untrained eye can see the skill that went into creating such a dress. If I were to judge her by guy standards I would say she was a 7.5. Not breathtaking but pretty none the less.
Suddenly her eyes connect with mind once more.
¡°Tell me about where you came from.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because I want to know.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you ask one of the other heroes?¡±
¡°Well, they are not here right now are they?¡±
I sigh and resign myself to tell her a little bit.
¡°Fine. I come from a world that was in what we called the ¡°age of information¡± where any and all information was at the tip of your fingers at all times. If you wanted to know something, anything, all you needed was a computer or a phone and you could find it out in seconds. Hmm¡ If I were to compare it to this world I would say that it was like having all the books in the world, on every subject imaginable, in your hand. There was no magic, but instead we had technology and science with which we could create more or less anything. We had things like toilets that don¡¯t stink, a fridge that cools down food so it lasts longer, a transportation system that doesn¡¯t shit on the roads and that can travel over entire countries in just a few hours, enough food to never have anyone in the world go hungry (in theory), weapons that could wipe out every single life on the entire planet, a healthcare that was so good our bodies had to make up new diseases.
¡°That sounds rather wondrous¡¡± She said and dreamt herself away to a place that was free from illness and hunger. And so I had to burst her bubble.
¡°Of course all this had its price. We used up a lot of nature¡¯s natural resources, polluted oceans and slowly but surely destroyed the ozone layer which would eventually be out death I¡¯m sure. We killed of entire species, held wars that killed millions of people, got so fat and lazy that a lot of people saw getting fat as an illness. We even freely took in poison in the form of tobacco, snuff and drugs if only to fit in. We were greedy and vain, always looking for ways to get what we wanted. It was only after shit started to turn bad that we even thought of doing something to rectify what we had done. Suffice to say that when you want everything in the world you will eventually have to destroy everything in the world in order to get it. And only then will you look back and think, was it really what you wanted?¡±
¡°¡¡± She is quiet for some time. It looks like I shocked her quite a bit.
¡°Of course this is only my opinion of the world I come from and I was for the most part in my home and didn¡¯t leave unless it was for work, so I can¡¯t exactly say that I am an expert of my world.¡±
¡°It almost sounds like you didn¡¯t like it there¡¡± She mumbles.
¡°Well, there are things I liked and things I didn¡¯t. I hated the fact that I could not just own a place of my own. I had to get ahold of a lot of money in order to do that. I hated the fact that I could not do what I wanted for a living and I had to conform to others wishes in order to get a job. Unless I had money. I hated that money was such a big requirement to live. I also didn¡¯t like how boring the world was. I mean seriously there was nothing happening at all. Only tiny steps of progress happened. There were some things I liked though. Like the stories in fantasy and sci-fi books, a ton of games and movies, the food my mother cooked, the music. Things like that.¡±
¡°Do you miss it? Your world I mean.¡±
¡°Hah! Miss it? Hell no! I haven¡¯t been here long enough to even think about it.¡± I laugh. ¡°This place has so much that I want to see and learn about. Magic and swords, dwarves and elves, blacksmithing, alchemy, herbalism, farming, traveling. There are so much stuff here that I have finally found some motivation to actually do something of myself, and the fact that I am a hero with all that entails is just a bonus. Hell, I might even stay here forever, given the choice.¡±
¡°I see. Well then perhaps it is a good thing that we managed to summon you then. I was a little worried of how you heroes would think of us but¡¡±
¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong here missy.¡± I snap at her. ¡°Just because I happen to be enjoying myself have nothing to do with the summoning. The fact is that you guys ripped us from our homes. From our families and friends. From our jobs and lives. You tore us away from everything we knew only to then tell us that we have to fight to save your scrawny ass. Don¡¯t expect me to be grateful for that. Because that will never happen.¡±
¡°¡My apologies, I spoke too soon.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as you understand.¡± With this I feel like our conversation is over and I get up with the intention of leaving. She understands my intent and stands with me.
¡°This was a most enlightening conversation Mr. Hero. I hope we can speak again sometime.¡± And with that we go our separate ways.
On my way out I noticed that two women in heavy armor and a big two handed sword on their back was standing on guard near the circle of flowers, most likely guarding the girl.
I guess she is important enough to have guards¡ I briefly think before dismissing them from my mind.
The rest of the day I spend in my room trying on my new armor and the supposedly magic resistant cloak.
I wonder why they said that it wouldn¡¯t work, something about the elements not looking favorably on the use of the dead¡ Makes no sense to me.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror I find myself looking rather badass and when I wrap the cloak around me and pull up the hood I can hide my appearance rather well. It still has that ¡®never before used¡¯ look to it, but that will go away with time. I took note of the time it took to get it all on and was a little sad over the fact that I would be spending at least an hour getting ready whenever I need to armor up, and that¡¯s before I equip any weapons at all. The thought of all the weapons I would like to get occupies me for a moment; however I realize that the ¡®training¡¯ Millie is giving me is far more important right now. No weapon in the world would help me if I freeze in fear when it¡¯s time to use it. But¡
Holding myself back takes some effort but i am saved by hunger and as such I head for the kitchen. It is a good opportunity to get used to moving around in the armor and after I have eaten I suppose it¡¯s time to meet up with Millie once more.
As I leave my room I walk past a bunch of heroes standing in a hallway having a loud discussion. Since they were in the way and didn¡¯t even try to keep their discussion to themselves I overheard it all.
Apparently the king and queen had declared that there was to be a tournament held at the end of the month to inspire the commoners and increase moral in the city. During the tournament all heroes was required to enter in order to show of the superiority of their growth and learning speed so that the people could rest easier. It was understandable that there would be some doubts since most were very young, the youngest was only around 10 years old. There would also be soldiers and mercenaries allowed to enter the tournament as a benchmark of sort.
I didn¡¯t know that there was a moral problem in the city. Maybe I should ask Millie about it later.
There was also talk about the rewards for those who did well in the tournament. First there were gold prizes, of course, but what were more interesting to me were the titles. I only heard one of the hero''s name in in passing but no one paid it any attention. I can¡¯t blame them for passing up the idea of a title for the idea of a sack of money. After all we came from a very different world. A world where money can get you almost anything, while empty titles are meaningless. Poor fools, they didn¡¯t even think of the fact that this was not our world. Here a title comes not only with honor and power but, more importantly, with land. And with land comes money, responsibility, security and power. There is a reason why the nobles of the past waged wars over empty land. Land can be cultivated to farmlands, built in to cities, dammed in to lakes and much, much more. Not to mention the fact that the king would hardly give away some trash land, most likely it would be a small village and its surroundings. If that was the case then you would be allowed to tax the citizens and develop it into a great state of the kingdom. How can a small bag of coin even compare to such a price?
However all the benefits come with a cost. Effort and responsibility. It¡¯s not like you can just acquire said land and then just go about your business and expect money to just roll in. No you have to put in a lot of effort in getting the people on your side, cultivating the land and manage the finances. Not to mention defend it against¡ whatever is out there. Personally I think that, while it would be nice to have something of my own, I could never live up to the responsibility required taking care of any land. Hell in the past some would say that I couldn¡¯t take care of a tiny little apartment, so how would I be able to take care of a small village? Much less make it grow. Heh, no maybe a small bag of coins would be better for me. After all I was a shut in who was happy with next to nothing. If I were to be given a lot then I might just fade away even more than before. Thinking this I go on my way.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Oh and as a side note, the reason the heroes didn¡¯t look at me funny or even noticed me at all, was because my armor was not the only one that had been finished today. In fact all of them were dressed in polished armor and fancy looking robes. Looking at them all you could see that while they all resembled one and others design, there was a vast difference in sizes and colors. Giving them all their own unique style, even if the base was all more or less the same. Compared to their bright color and shiny metal I was not even given a second look.
I find my way to the kitchen and get something to eat before I go to meet up with Millie, hopefully I will be early this time. On the way I get quite a few looks but no one comments my new garb, I am starting to wonder if I look weird¡
As I arrive I look up in the sky, noticing that I am far too early. So I guess I might as well go train a little since I don¡¯t have anything else to do. I enter the training area behind the barracks and was not surprised to find it empty. I grabbed a wooden sword from a rack and started to randomly swing it in order to warm up a bit. It didn¡¯t take long for me to feel the difference to wearing armor and not.
It was a lot harder to keep up a tempo thanks to the extra weight. Not to mention the cloak easily getting in the way. If I was swinging a real sword I would have cut my new cloak to shreds by now. I hope that I will be able to learn how to fight using the cloak rather than to be hindered by it. Worst case scenario I would have to ditch the cloak and just go with a scarf or something instead.
The real reason why I want to have a cloak was just because it will probably turn out to be useful later on, not only to hide my identity but also to protect against the elements, strong winds, cold and dust. You never know what will happen in the future so I would just like to be prepared for as much as possible. I have no doubt of the fact that I will eventually have to leave this place and when that happens¡ well suffice to say I will have to get as ready for that as possible. Especially when I think about the, supposedly, coming horde of demons.
I stand there randomly swinging for about 15 minutes before I start to lose my breath. I¡¯m still so weak it¡¯s not even funny. I can¡¯t be slacking off anymore. From now on I will be focusing on my physical strength; no matter how much I want to learn cool magic it won¡¯t do if I collapse from exhaustion after just a few minutes of fighting.
With that in mind I started swinging with some more enthusiasm. Unfortunately I over did it and just 5 minutes later I dropped to the ground, panting. Well I do have a hero¡¯s body so I will be fine by tomorrow. Still, I am impatient. Never had the kind of mindset needed to get good at things.
No! I can¡¯t think like that. I need this so I can¡¯t complain. After all this is what I always wanted so get your ass in gear and get moving again.
I clamber back up to my feet and start to swing the sword once more. This time I try doing more organized swings. Bottom left to top right with both hands, until my side starts to hurt and then I switch sides. Then one handed. The classic kendo up down swing. Same thing one handed. Other hand¡
I keep just going through motions. Weather they were the right motions or not I don¡¯t know but I was getting tired and I started to really feel my muscles working. Instead of swinging randomly; which just tired me out, swinging deliberately in order to work a specific muscle group felt much more rewarding and it didn¡¯t tire me out in the same way at all.
While I spent my time swinging a wooden sword in full armor, getting sweaty as hell by the way, Millie was nowhere to be seen. When the sun had lowered itself beyond the horizon I was starting to worry a little. However this was just about as late as I was last time so it¡¯s not as if I can complain. I continue to swing my sword until finally it gets hard to see and I look up only to see the sky is filled with stars.
Did she forget? Maybe she thought we should rest today or something¡
I was a little worried so I went to the guards at the gate to the castle.
¡°Hey, sorry to bother you guys but have you seen Millie?¡±
One of the guard looked annoyed and starts to mumbles something like ¡®damn brats should be sleeping at night¡¡¯ before the guard standing next to him took an extra look at my face and quickly shut his friend up with a slap in the back of his head before addressing me.
¡°Ah, my lord! Forgive this old idiot; his sight is not as good as it used to be. You said you were looking for commander Millie? I¡¯m afraid she has yet to return to the castle and, if you don¡¯t mind me saying, I don¡¯t think she plans on coming back tonight. Most likely she will be at one of her favorite bars down in the city. If you would like I could send some men out to look for her.¡±
What? How come this guy is so nice to me? Did he mistake me for someone else? I am really confused at his attitude; I had half expected to be told to mind my own business or something like that.
On the other hand I was supposed to meet Millie at sundown and I am a bit worried that she once again will wake up with a face full of hay. Can I just go to bed and leave her like that¡?
I think for a while before telling the guards ¡°No I don¡¯t want to be of any trouble¡ if you could just direct me to some of the bars and I¡¯ll see if I can find her before it gets much later. If I can¡¯t find her I¡¯ll just wait until tomorrow.¡±
¡°Of course my lord. Then let me send for an escort to take you down to the city.¡± The guard said and immediately runs of before I can even get a word in protest out.
While I was waiting I found myself getting scrutinized by the older guard. Apparently he was as surprised over his colleague¡¯s reaction as I was.
¡°What¡¯s with him?¡± I thought to ask him.
¡°Hell if I know¡¡± He muttered while scratching his head.
¡°Hey by the way, do you know Millie?¡±
¡°No I can¡¯t say I know the commander other than from¡ rumors.¡± He looks hesitantly at me.
¡°Please, if you don¡¯t mind can you tell me about what you have heard? I have only known her for a few days so I don¡¯t know anything about her. I didn¡¯t even know she was a commander.¡±
¡°Yea, she¡¯s a commander alright. But she was only recently given that position. From what I understand she is only a backup in case the knight commander is not around when shit goes down. Most of the soldiers like her, she likes to drink and gamble with them. Never heard of a commander that would rather be rowdy with the men then enforce discipline.¡±
¡°But if that¡¯s the case then why was she made a commander, it sounds counterproductive. I mean isn¡¯t it better to have a commander that have the respect of his soldiers then a commander who treats them as an equal. How is she supposed to get them to follow her orders if they think they might know better than her?¡±
¡°Well, the rumor is that she gained her commander title at the knight commander¡¯s wishes. Apparently he had led a platoon to eradicate a big bandit group only to be overwhelmed and forced to retreat. After that defeat he gathered an additional 3 platoons and went out again only to be defeated once more. Eventually he got together an entire battalion to go out and capture the bandits and after a fierce battle he found out that the bandits was not as big as he had thought but instead they were just 30 men and women. Leading them was Millie, who after their capture negotiated their release in return for her service. The knight commander pleaded to the king and had her made in to a commander soon after.¡±
¡°That sounds a bit unbelievable, why would he hire the person who had been his enemy? Especially since she was a bandit who had killed his own men, shouldn¡¯t he have just put them all to death instead of capturing them?¡±
¡°I think the knight commander was ordered to do just that but when he saw the bandits in question he saw that they were all young and half-starved and had only turned to banditry in order to survive. Seeing that his heart must have gone weak and filled with admiration towards their leader who had displayed true talent in repelling his overwhelming forces time and time again. To simply kill of such talent would be too much of a shame, especially with the hell that is to come.¡±
So Millie is actually some sort of a genius strategy commander? I don¡¯t believe that for a minute. I mean¡ she is a brute, right? A drinking, bar fight loving brute. Who would follow that sort of a person in battle, other than an idiot¡? Guess I should talk to her myself.
And with perfect timing the young guard came running back with two soldiers in tow.
¡°Hah, hah¡ Sorry for the delay my lord. These men will follow you and show you the way to where Millie usually go to drink. Please feel free to make use of them as you wish.¡± He says while giving off a strained salute and trying to hide that he is out of breath. The two guards he had with him give me snappy salutes with straight backs, not questioning in any way.
¡°Eh¡ Ok then, please¡ show the way.¡± I say as I wonder: What the hell did this guy tell them?
With a sharp ¡°Sir!¡± One of them leads the way while the other positions himself behind me and before I knew it I was lead into the dark city.
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¡°Now what was all that about?¡± The old guard asks the young one.
¡°Shut up! You almost got both of us killed! That guy was not someone who will take any insult to his status.¡±
¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t remember anyone like that. What is he, some noble¡¯s son?¡±
¡°No you moron, he is a hero! I recognized him because Jim pointed him out to me earlier today. He is the one who Jim stopped from entering the castle because he looked and smelled like a drunken bum who had lost his way. The hero started too clearly state what would happen to them if he was not allowed inside. It wasn¡¯t just demotion and losing their job but he would make sure that they would be whipped in public and then tortured to death as an example to those who stands in the way of a hero. Jim said that he was scared out of his mind and told me that I would do well to avoid this person or if I can¡¯t I should treat him like a royal noble, giving him every curtsy or my life would be on the line. According to him, he was only alive because of a whim of that hero.¡±
¡°¡¡± The older guard only stands there and stares out into the city. ¡°He didn¡¯t seem like such a bad person to me. Even talked to me like an equal.¡±
¡°Trust me, if you ever get on that guys bad side you will be happy if you can live to regret it.¡±
At this the older guard spits on the ground. ¡°I guess you can never tell with some people¡¡±
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Chapter 8: Having a chat at a bar.
Since the guards lead the way we soon arrived to a bar in the lower parts of the city, I am no good with directions but if last time me and Millie went to the west side of the city then this was the East side. Along the way we spotted several people who were up to no good and scurried away after taking a single look at the guards I had with me. The guards didn¡¯t speak the entire way, and since I didn¡¯t know what to say I kept quiet as well. I had no idea of what that guard had told them but they sure took their job seriously.
When they finally stopped and opened a seemingly random door, a voice shouted out inside of the supposed bar.
¡°Ah finally! I told sent for you guys ages ago what took you so long? Ah never mind that just please get her out of here quickly before she starts going berserk again!¡± As I got inside I saw that the man who was speaking was the bartender, leaning over his bar and gesturing towards a familiar person who was swiftly emptying a giant tankard of what I could only guess was ale.
¡°Commander Millie!¡± My guards shout out and snap to attention. ¡°We have come to find you on the request of this person.¡± They gesture towards me.
¡°¡glug¡glug.. Tah!¡± with a loud bang Millie slams the now empty tankard in to the table so hard she loses the grip of it and it sail through the bar and smashes into a collections of bottles holding various liquids. The bar man groans loudly and once more demands us to get her out of here, while not taking a single step to try and force her outside himself.
Taking another look around me see a few big muscled men lying in uncomfortable positions around the bar. Thinking back to the night before I can guess what had happened here and gives out a long sigh.
I knew it, there is way in hell she could be some genius commander.
¡°Eh? Who¡¯sh dat? Ohoo do¡¯t dell me u wanna foght too? Cmere th¡¯n. Shve me wh¡¯t u got.¡± Millie blurs out in a drunken stupor. I highly doubt that she can even stand up in her condition, not to mention fighting. I look at the guards and nod towards her, expecting them to drag her out of here for me. After all the young guard told me to use them how I wished. Unexpectedly though they both look at each other and hesitates. A slight shudder could be seen going through their bodies.
¡°What?¡± I ask when I see them hesitate.
¡°Commander Millie is not someone who can be¡ taken outside easily¡ ehm¡± The guards take a step back behind me.
¡°Really? Look, isn¡¯t she so drunk she can hardly stand? Are you telling me you can¡¯t even get her outside even though she is like this?¡±
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry my lord but¡ ehm, the commander is known for being¡ troublesome when she is like this.¡±
I make a deep sigh as I realize that they will not be of any help. Some guards you are. I think as I walk up to Millie who is wobbling on her chair. She is so drunk she can¡¯t see straight, sit straight or speak properly. In other words she is completely hammered.
Because I have spent some time with her I am not afraid and walk up to her table and sit down.
¡°Huh¡ whossat? Ohwats u doi¡¯n ere? The shun gone, you an me shlud go an¡ whatsu doi¡¯n ere...?¡± She slurs at me.
¡°What am I doing here? What the fuck are YOU doing here? The sun went down hours ago Millie¡ why didn¡¯t you come meet me?¡±
¡°I wash ere mmting a flen- ¡®Burp¡¯ flend to ge u a¡ u no a¡ wat¡¯u¡¯ca¡¯it?¡±
¡°How should I know?¡± I ask her and she just stares at me while making a face as if she is trying to hold back vomiting. ¡°Okay Millie, you are just rambling now. Come on; let¡¯s get you to a bed or something.¡± Saying this I stand up and grab her arm to help her on her feet¡ Or at least that is what I intended to do.
I didn¡¯t even get my hand under her arm before I found myself upside-down flying across the bar. The loud crash accompanied with the ripping feeling of broken shards of glass cut against my back and the heavy thud of my body hitting the wooden wall made me think: ¡°Oh so that¡¯s what the guard meant¡¡± before I thankfully dove down into unconsciousness.
The wind was warm and playfully blew in her hair. Watching her I knew I was in love. Her blond hair covered her face as she twirled towards me. Her laughter made my heart ache with longing. I grabbed her hands with mine and she pulled me with her down the grassy hill. I knew I wanted to live with her forever. I wanted to have a beautiful child with her. I held him in my arms as he laughed with glee, just like his mother. His blue eyes shone as he ran towards me. He held my hand and hers as we walked down the street, the sun warming our backs. I was so happy I felt like flying. I soared in the sky, above the clouds, through them. I looked down and remembered my family down there, watching up at me. I flew down. I could not fly¡
With a jump I awoke. Cold sweat broke out and I breathed hard. A sharp pain spread from my back and I cursed quietly to myself. It had been such a good dream, I think and try to sleep some more. But the pain stopped me from doing so and sighing in regret I try to get up. The pain is greater than anything I have ever felt before. I start to get scared.
I remember what happened yesterday and I fear that I have actually broken my back against the wall. Since I can¡¯t get up I look around the room. Apparently I was not the only one who got his ass handed to him. In the room there are three other beds holding three soldiers who was groaning in their sleep. Not knowing where I was and unable to move at all I did the only thing I could.
¡°Uhm, hello!? Anyone there?¡± I said out loud. Not noticing any response I tried again but louder. ¡°Hello!? Anyone!?¡± The sound of someone knocking something over and then thudding steps running to my room answered my call. I couldn¡¯t see the door but I could hear it open and then finally I heard her voice.
¡°Ah thank god you¡¯re awake!¡± Millie said with relief in her voice.
¡°Millie is that you?¡± As I say this she come to the side of the bed I can see. She has deep rings under her eyes.
¡°Where am I Millie?¡± I ask her.
¡°You are at the bar still.¡±
¡°Okay, why am I at the bar still?¡±
¡°Do you¡ remember yesterday?¡± She asks carefully.
¡°I remember flying upside-down through the air after trying to help you on your feet¡ Let¡¯s get back to the main issue here. Millie why and I still at the bar?¡±
Millie blushes and looks away at the mention of what had happened. ¡°Uhm, well¡ After that¡ eh¡ I can¡¯t say I remember too much of it but¡ you know¡¡±
¡°Why are you not answering my question? I was hurt really badly and I am in great need of healing, so why is it that I have yet to receive such healing?¡±
¡°You see, after you¡ After I¡ after that the guards got flustered and I uhm¡ kind of¡ and they uhm¡ well after that they got a healer and then¡ and the guard came, I mean the other guards not the ones you brought since they were¡ already¡ and then I¡ uhm¡ until I fell asleep and then I don¡¯t know anymore.¡±
¡°So let¡¯s see if I got this right, after you threw me in to a wall¡¡± She twitches a little when she hears me mention what actually happened. ¡°You attacked the guards¡¡± More twitching. ¡°When the healer came you attacked him to¡± She starts to fidget with her hands. ¡°And more guards came around and you fought until you eventually passed out. Have I gotten all this right?¡± She hangs her head. It is a little bizarre to see this woman, who almost personifies a robber, act like a little girl getting scolded.
¡°So how long have I been out?¡±
¡°¡a few days.¡±
¡°And I take it the healer is still out?¡±
¡°Mhm¡¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you just get another healer?¡±
¡°Well t-they are¡ also¡¡±
I let out a long, long groan.
¡°This is the second time you have me knocked out in a bar, is this really how you thought to train me?¡±
¡°No, I wasn¡¯t! I was here to meet a friend and he didn¡¯t show so I drank a bit and then he showed up and was rude and I drank some more and then some assholes tried to throw me out and so I knocked them around a bit and¡ eh¡ I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°..Sorry my ass¡± I mutter to myself. ¡°How bad does it look?¡±
¡°I¡¯m no healer but the glass look painful.¡±
Glass?
¡°Wait I still have glass in my back!?¡±
¡°Uh huh¡± She nods.
¡°Why the hell do I still have glass in my back!? Didn¡¯t anyone think to take it out?¡±
¡°Well we don¡¯t know what to do so we just thought to wait until the healers wake up¡¡±
¡°God damn, you idiot! Think for yourself a bit! If I have glass in my back then I am probably bleeding. If I lose too much blood then I will die. Not to mention things like deadly infections, bacteria and god only knows what was in those bottles.¡±
¡°But won¡¯t it hurt a lot if I remove the glass?¡±
¡°Well yea it will hurt now! I wasn¡¯t awake before so then it wouldn¡¯t hurt, now would it!? Urgh¡¡±
¡°So what should I do? Should I just grab it and pull it out or something?¡±
¡°No, now it¡¯s too late. What you should do right now is wake up one of the healers. Do it gently but make sure they wake up. After they have awoken you apologies and then ask them to heal themselves and me, thereafter they can take care of the rest. Oh and I am not doing the same shit as with that priest guy! Make sure you tell them that.¡±
¡°Okay I¡¯ll go right now.¡±
¡°Good hurry up please.¡±
With that she runs out of the room. I can¡¯t believe how messed up of a situation this is. Not only did I get knocked out but all they did after that was somehow getting me to a bed and lay me down on my stomach. I still have my blood covered shirt. It¡¯s shredded and stinks and the dried blood have glued it to my skin. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my entire back was covered in flies. Well I say that but to be honest I haven¡¯t seen a single fly after arriving here. Either they don¡¯t exist in this world or they just don¡¯t exist here.
Millie didn¡¯t take long and soon came stomping back into the room carrying one of the healers over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Setting him down in front of me I could see that he was still unconscious.
¡°Millie, I need him to be awake in order to heal me¡¡± I say with a tired voice. More and more I am starting to think that Millie is a very simple person.
¡°Huh? Oh he fell asleep again! HEY WAKE UP!¡± She screams out and starts to shake the clearly wounded healer. I can even see where his bones are poking out of his left leg.
¡°Jesus Millie calm down. Can¡¯t you see his leg is broken? He probably fainted of the pain as you threw him over your shoulders or something. This is why I told you to let him heal himself first.¡±
¡°¡Alright. I¡¯m sorry okay?¡± She tells me and bows her head down before turning back to the healer who lies slumped on the floor next to my bed.
¡°Ok sleepy head¡ wake up, wake up, wake up¡¡± She tries to coerce the man to regain his consciousness.
¡°Sun is up, rise and shine.¡± She says and starts to poke him on his cheek. I could see her getting agitated again but I kind of wanted to see how it would play out so I kept quiet.
¡°Open your eyes, if you don¡¯t you will never be able too again¡¡± She turns to threats¡
¡°Oh well you asked for it!¡± She finally snaps and a loud slap echoes in the room.
¡°Huuaaa!¡± The priest wakes up in great pain. Millie does a small fist pump to herself before turning to me with a smile as if waiting for praise.
¡°Remind me to never ask you to wake me up¡ no matter the circumstances.¡± I grumble towards her.
¡°What, I woke him up didn¡¯t I?¡±
¡°Yea yea, good work I guess. Now can you get him to stop screaming and start healing without passing out once more?¡±
She turns to the healer who was loudly announcing to the world that his face hurt after she slapped him, only to then realize that his leg looked like a pack of dogs had used it as a chew toy.
What did she do to him to get his leg messed up like that? Vivid images of her somehow swinging him around by his leg with her teeth float through my mind for a moment.
¡°Hey, healer why ain¡¯t you healing yourself already?¡± Millie asks him while bending down and glaring at him to shut up.
¡°Argh, ugh, my leg! Ahg¡ sniff idt hurts sho much¡¡± He sniffles.
¡°Oh for crying out loud shut up and heal yourself then! You are a healer right!? Millie you sure you woke up the right guy?¡±
¡°Yea it¡¯s him. I¡¯ve seen him heal the soldiers before.¡±
¡°Well then get on with it already damn it. I can¡¯t just lie here all day!¡±
I was getting angry. It was just one thing after another and my neck was really starting to hurt, not mentioning my back.
Seeing me getting fed up, Millie once again slaps the man.
¡°Pull yourself together! If you are a healer then heal! It¡¯s not like the pain will go away just because you cry about it.¡±
At first the healer glares at her as if to say ¡®how dare you lay your hands on me¡¯, but he soon comes to his senses and starts to chant a prayer to some god. I really didn¡¯t care about it at the time and just wanted the man to hurry up.
Soon the light in the room got a little brighter and as he continued his prayer it started to gather on him, making it look a little like he had a spotlight on him.
Meanwhile his leg started to reverse its damage. And contrary to popular belief it didn¡¯t look like a holy blessing, nor was it a pretty sight that would have you gasp in awe. No it was a really disgusting sight to see the bone get pulled back inside the skin, making the noise of bone against bone and then have the leg start to place the bones right and clicking together and the wound start to fill up with nerves reconnecting and the blood flowing in reverse after which the skin seemed to crawl around the wound slowly reversing the damage. Watching it made me feel like throwing up. I have seen doctor shows on TV before and even those that showed knee transplants and stuff like that where they open up the entire knee, was nothing compared to watching this.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Eventually the guy healed himself back up; the whole process took about 20 minutes. For being magic it sure took it¡¯s time but maybe it was just because the healer¡¯s skill was low or something like that.
¡°Good now that you healed yourself, do you mind doing the same to me?¡± I ask him impatiently.
The healer takes a quick look at Millie who glares at him and then quickly gets to work on my back. Throughout the whole process I feel warm and fuzzy, kind of like when you wake up in the morning in a warm, clean bed and you know that you have no reason to get up early, so you can just lay there and enjoy yourself all day long. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I had been in pain for almost an hour while waiting for him to get his shit together then I would have been full of gratitude. As it was I was only mildly thankful.
I give out a sigh of relief and slowly sit up as the pain and discomfort disappear.
¡°Much better, thank you.¡± I thank the healer who only grumbles in response before turning to tend to the other wounded in the room.
Not wanting to get into an argument with the more than likely pissed soldiers when they wake up I drag Millie down to the bar.
¡°So, are you going to tell me who you were meeting or is it a secret or something?¡±
¡°Oh right, him. Well I told you before that I knew some people who could help teach you, he is one of them. To be honest he is a bit of an asshole, but he knows his stuff. I thought I would need to hand you off to someone like him in case I got too busy, and it just so happens that I¡¯m getting really busy soon. Ain¡¯t nobody fucking with him unless they want to stay in bed for the coming year, and that is if he is in a good mood. The problem is getting him to actually give a shit about teaching you.¡±
¡°Was he the one that taught you?¡±
¡°Heh, no I learned the old fashioned way. Through a harsh and fucked up past.¡±
¡°Okay¡ So who is he exactly?¡±
¡°Oh he is some drunken dwarf named Bryn. He lives of doing protection and bouncer jobs at taverns and bars around here in the lower city. While he is an asshole and a drunk, he is dependable and a hell of a fighter. That¡¯s why he is loved down here, that and the fact that he is cheap. All he wants in return is cheap beer or ale and a place to sleep. He don¡¯t even care if it¡¯s watered down ale and a bit of straw in the stables, he will still do his work, and do it well. If only he could keep his bloody thoughts to himself then maybe he could have been in the army like me. Hell I would have hired him if I could convince the knight commander that he is actually worth it. Just¡ do me a favor and don¡¯t judge the horse by its stink.¡±
¡°I¡¯m starting to understand why you were so hammered after speaking to him¡¡±
¡°Not my fault the bartender actually brought some good stuff to the table. I told you he is a big drinker and normally we would have been drinking watered down ale for hours and I would be just fine¡¡±
¡°Yea, right. Blame the bartender.¡± I grumble.
¡°Anyway¡ he will be helping you out from sunset, in return for¡ well you will find out eventually¡¡±
¡°¡No, I want to find out now. What is he getting in return?¡±
¡°Ehm¡ Well since he doesn¡¯t really have any money and you don¡¯t have any money we agreed on you making some money for the both of you. You can ask Bryn for the details in the evening.¡±
¡°What is with you and your friends love of doing things in the night anyway? Isn¡¯t daytime so much more convenient?¡±
¡°Well the things you want to learn are not really daytime things, if you know what I mean. Should the guards find out the things you will be doing then you would be in trouble, hero or not.¡±
¡°But¡ aren¡¯t you a guard?¡±
¡°Me? Hell no! I¡¯m more of a¡ a¡ advisor! I don¡¯t have any real power I just tell the knight commander what I think and make some general plans that he can go through and do with what he will. It sounds easy but it takes a ton of time really. Lots of things to wright and lots of people to talk to and such, it wears you out. But in general, as long as I do what they ask of me then I have free reign to do what I wish. And since I don¡¯t care about reporting your activities, because you¡¯re interesting, you have nothing to worry about.¡± She reassures me with a smile.
¡°You still haven¡¯t told me anything about what we will be doing¡¡±
¡°Well, fine. I don¡¯t¡ remember. I was drunk and then there was this whole thing and well¡ I forgot. Sorry. But I am sure Bryn knows, so just talk to him about it.¡±
¡°¡¡± I think for a moment about the possible contents of this deal. First what I get out of it. Training, skill and money. What type of training and what type of skill I don¡¯t know yet? But since what I requested was to learn how to fight honorless or unsavory, I could sort of guess. Secondly what will the drunk (Bryn was it?) get out of it is just money. Suffice to say I will probably have to do something like a death match or a fight club type deal. Probably some underground establishment where I will fight for money.
Will this suit my goals? If it¡¯s a death match then I will be able to learn how to fight with my life on the line which is good. However I still have to learn how to fight before I am thrown into a life or death fight. Not to mention the fact that there is a high probability of me dying before I learn anything. And since they don¡¯t want me to die before the calamity comes, I can rule that out. So a fight club then? More or less like street fighting or underground boxing without gloves. There will be rules in place so that you don¡¯t kill each other. Things like eye gouging and neck breaking will definitely be outlawed. However it will be a good place to start. Better than learning how to stay your blade in sparring matches and how to go easy on a downed opponent.
¡°Okay, I guess all I need to do is to talk to him then. What are you going to do meanwhile?¡±
¡°Oh I¡¯m going to work my ass off, read a ton of reports, have some meetings with far too many people who¡¯s got a stick up their asses, wright a fair share of reports and explain to the knight commander why he can¡¯t just ride out with his full command every time there is a problem.¡±
¡°Sounds like we will both be a bit busy then.¡±
¡°Yea, you could say that.¡±
¡°Well, see you later then.¡±
¡°Wow, you¡¯re just going to leave just like that?¡±
¡°Yes, why did you have anything else to talk about?¡±
¡°No but¡ I thought we could, you know, chat a bit more.¡±
¡°Need I remind you that I have been having forced bed rest after the last time I tried to have a chat with you?¡±
¡°You¡¯re still going on with that? I said I was sorry.¡±
¡°Besides¡ if you are going to be as busy as you say you are then you will need to get some rest.¡± I say and look her up and down in a meaningful way.
Deep rings under her eyes, clothes dirty and stinking of dried in beer, hair in a mess. She probably hasn¡¯t slept at all for some time.
¡°Yea, I guess so, huh?¡± She suddenly sounds exhausted as if she just remembered how tired she really was.
¡°Go home Millie, and get some sleep. I¡¯ll see you around some other time.¡±
And just like that I leave the bar. The light outside stings my eyes as I have spent a long time inside. Come to think of it I never found out just how long I had been unconscious for.
I made my way back to the castle. My intention was to get a bath, some clean clothes and a ton of food. As I come closer to the castle I half expected the guards to once again stop me from entering, considering my trashed clothes and dirty appearance. However I was surprised to see that when I came closer the guards, after taking a second look at me, snapped into attention and saluted me.
¡°Welcome back, my lord!¡± They said in unison.
¡°Thanks¡¡± I hesitantly said and hurried past them.
The guards of the castle sure are a strange lot.
On my way to my room I found that I was being watched by the staff. None of the nobles even gave me a second glance but the maids, servants and guards all stared at me and whispered among themselves. I guess seeing a hero return time and time again with dirty, trashed clothes and a strong odor of sweat and dried ale made people talk. I bet before long I will be called the ¡°Drunk Hero¡± or maybe the ¡°Trash Hero¡±. While not very flattering, it¡¯s better than nothing I guess.
With the help of some maids I got myself bathed, clothed and fed in quick succession. Feeling like a new man I stepped out into the sunshine once more, thinking that it¡¯s high time I got back to training my body. A little shame since I had just bathed but I could always ask for another bath when I return. In times like these I am happy of the fact that we were not made to become slaves after we were summoned.
When I walked into the barracks area I couldn¡¯t help but notice the fact that the other heroes were nowhere to be seen. While I was expecting them to have been here at this time I don¡¯t keep tabs on their activities at all. Instead a few of the regular soldiers and guards are having a training session. Among them I spot a familiar face.
¡°Hey, Hank. Got a moment?¡± I call out to him where he is stabbing a speak into a wooden manikin. Hearing my call some of the others glanced over towards me and motions towards me to their comrades, immediately stopping all activities. Every soldier and guard quietly stands at attention, their training weapons at their side.
Startled by their behavior I felt myself tense up. Contrary to what would normally happen if I was intimidated I found myself standing up straighter and looking down on those around me. Meanwhile in my mind¡
What is going on? Why are they staring at me? Are they staring at me or someone behind me? Did they mistake me for someone else? What should I do?
Totally panic. I never was good at being the center of attention. Luckily I was saved by Hank.
¡°At ease gentlemen.¡± He spoke and instantly dispelled the awkward atmosphere. ¡°How can I help you my lord?¡±
¡°Eh¡ Ah well¡¡± I tried to collect myself before answering him. ¡°I¡ was just wondering what the others are up to, if you have any idea.¡±
¡°Yes, the other heroes are currently visiting the major noble houses in the region.¡± He said without even a hint of wondering why I was not with them.
¡°I see, thank you¡ Ehm¡ that is all.¡± I feel like a moron saying it like that but Hank responded with a firm voice as if it was natural.
¡°Sir!¡± And he returned to his training.
I made my way out of there and to the secluded area to begin my own training. The way people have been acting towards me I feel like I have missed something while I was not here. It probably has something to do with the others. I try to push it out of my mind as I once more start to train my body. This time I focus on my stamina. Simple stretching, pushups and situps as a warm up, in to running in a circle for as long as I can. My body really has improved already; I could feel myself being able to run for longer than I ever have before. Granted it still not even an estimated hours¡¯ worth. Merely around 30-40 minutes. But I was getting better; soon I would have a decent foundation to build on. Then it¡¯s just a matter of finding out what to train.
I spent most of the day working on my stamina, until I got hungry once more, and then got ready for another night in the city. This time however I took my armor on. After all I was going to meet a drunk who was known for fighting, and a dwarf at that. I felt a need for at least some protection.
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In drunken whispers the words spread quickly. About how one of the heroes had been stopped from entering and at that time threatened to kill the guards who did so.
How one of the heroes had apparently beaten the cook half to death when he wasn''t happy with the service.
How one of the heroes had a mage shiver in fear as he berated him his mistakes.
How one of the heroes had Commander Millie lower her head with shame and respect.
The accounts came from people who had witnessed it with their own eyes.
"Beware angering that hero. Show him respect and stay out of his way or you will regret it." The rumors went.
"Who was this hero?" People asked only to be answered. "You will know when you see him. He ain''t nothing like the others. Stays by himself, trains alone, away from prying eyes."
"Beware the hero, who walks alone!"
"Beware the Lone Hero..."
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Chapter 9: Bryn
(A/N: Finally getting to cram in a little action in to the story. Enjoy :)
As the sun started to set i left my room and headed out. This was the first time I was going out in public in full armor and as such I felt really silly. Whenever I met anyone on the way they would stare at me and I couldn¡¯t help but think that they were laughing at my attire behind my back. The only thing that stopped be from changing back to more casual clothes was the fact that what I considered casual clothes didn¡¯t really exist here. So as to dispel my own insecurity I started to stare back at people I met and quietly laughing to myself over their overly embroidered and over complicated attires. I swear some of these nobles have at least twenty garments on at a time. How they are able to move without parts falling off I have no idea. By the time I made it out to the barracks I was feeling a little more confident.
I was early so I leaned up against the low wall to wait for the dwarf. I just hoped he would actually show up. He was, after all, a drunk so I don¡¯t think I can count on him keeping his promises. My worry was¡ misdirected let us just say, as I soon had a knife under my throat and a course voice spoke in a whisper from behind me.
¡°Not a movement, nor a sound, boy.¡± The man said. Now I can put two and two together and it would normally not take any effort at all to know who it was but it is a fact that this was the first time my life had ever truly been threatened before, not counting Millie¡¯s drunken outburst.
My body froze at the feeling of a sharp blade against my skin. I remember that my first thought was in surprise over the fact that I really could feel the sharp blade against my skin. The reason was that I had not only armor on but also a cloak with the hood up and a scarf wrapped around my neck. So I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how the hell he had gotten a blade to have contact with my skin before I even knew he was there. After wondering that for less then a second, I then came to the conclusion that my life could end right here. And so I did what came naturally. I panicked.
I am not proud over it. You never know how you will react when your life is suddenly in the air. There are three basic reactions to panicking. The first is to flee. Since I had a knife at my throat that would just get me killed so I am glad that my body didn¡¯t start to suddenly try to get away by itself. The second response is to fight. Destroy that which threatens you. But yet again I had a knife at my throat and I had been warned not to move or speak and judging by the pressure and steadiness of the knife in question I am sure that had I moved I would have been dead. That leaves the third reaction to panicking. Similar to a rabbit I froze. While my mind and legs wanted nothing more to do with the situation my entire body tensed up and I didn¡¯t even breathe.
¡°Good, good. No heroics will get you out of this alive, boy. No matter how powerful you heroes are said to become, right now you are just children playing with wooden swords. So play nice and answer my questions and soon enough this will be nothing more than a bad dream.¡±
The voice paused, seemingly trying to see if I agree but since I didn¡¯t move at all, more so due to fear then any conscious decision, he took it as agreement.
¡°Now tell me, quietly, how many heroes were summoned?¡±
¡°¡?¡± This question really surprised me. Wasn¡¯t it public knowledge that there were 50 of us? I mean we were paraded through the town when we first arrived here so it can¡¯t be a secret. The pressure of the blade increased with my silence and I could feel it drawing blood.
My mind was racing, why would he ask such a question? I remembered the term ¡°establishing a baseline¡± from criminal dramas on TV when there was a polygraph involved. The criminal had to answer some obvious questions so that they could later compare the truths against the lies. I took my first breath and answered him.
¡°Fifty.¡± I whispered.
¡°And who is the strongest of the heroes?¡±
Shit! He had to ask a question I really can¡¯t answer, not because I don¡¯t want to but because I really don¡¯t know. If I tell him the truth¡ He obviously won¡¯t believe me. No choice but to bullshit.
Thinking that I would die if I was caught lying gave me great motivation to not mess up.
¡°Eric is the strongest with a sword so far. Jenny is the best with magic.¡± I told him trying my absolute hardest not to force my words out but have them flow without interruption. The pressure of the blade lessened slightly.
¡°What can you tell me about the princess?¡±
More questions I know nothing about. Maybe this is his real objective so if I tell him what he wants to hear, something he can bring back to whoever he works for then maybe he will be satisfied. Wait; didn¡¯t I hear somewhere that the princess likes the garden¡? Yea, that will have to do.
In order to be more believable I waited a few seconds too long so that he once again raised the blade causing it to dig in to my throat. It was risky, what if he cut an artery or something? But I thought that if he believes me then he will go away. Grunting from the pain I finally answered him.
¡°N-nothing special, typical princess. Only seen her a few times, never spoken to her myself. I only know what the rumors say about her.¡±
¡°And what do they say?¡±
¡°She has a bit of a mothers complex, copies her every move, even when she is in her chambers. Oh, and she apparently takes walks in the castle garden at times, during the evening. I-I can show you the way if you want. You can see the whole garden from my room.¡±
¡°¡¡± The guy is quiet for a little while before the blade is finally removed from my throat completely.
I don¡¯t make a move, just keep standing there, leaning against the low wall. I wanted to give the person time to escape before I checked if I was in once piece or not.
¡°You really are an asshole aren¡¯t you?¡± I jump as I hear the same gruff voice from my side.
Out from the training grounds steps a short, wide man with a ¡°Kama¡± style weapon in his hand, which explain how he was able to get the blade on my throat so easily. He must have been on top of the low wall and simply hooked it under my chin.
¡°To so easily give up your friends and the princess, even offering to help... What if I had been an assassin? Would you help me take out my targets too? How can Millie even think to help a traitorous shit like you?¡± He says and spits on the ground in front of me.
My mind finally catches up and I realize that this person must be the dwarf, Bryn, who I was supposed to meet here. Realizing that he had been the one to almost kill me made my mood take a 180 turn. That the guy was half my size only helped my confidence.
¡°You¡ you¡¯re that dwarf I was supposed to meet here aren¡¯t you? That was you just now? What the hell was that good for?¡±
¡°I wanted to test out one of the so called heroes that managed to get Millie¡¯s favor. Turns out I was right to do so; otherwise we would have wasted our time trying to make a man out of a rat. I have met beggars and thieves with more backbone than you. To think that you, a hero, would give up so easily in front of a simple blade. If the other heroes are as pathetic as you then we surly are doomed.¡±
¡°What the fuck!? What did you expect me to say? No, I don¡¯t know the princess? I don¡¯t associate with the other heroes and I don¡¯t even know their names, much less who is good at what. That I have spent most of my time trying to avoid them and their blind acceptance of whatever they are told? If I had told you that, would you have believed me? Would you have just let me go? Fuck no, you would have either tortured me in order to find out the truth, or you would have killed me right then and there because I was useless to you.¡±
Bryn blinked in confusion as he thought back on what I had told him, only now realizing that I had lied to him about almost everything. I could see it dawn to him that perhaps I hadn¡¯t given him anything at all.
With a new light in his eyes he looks at me for a while before bursting out in laughter.
¡°Houhahahaa! You got me good there, boy! To think I was so caught up with judging you I didn¡¯t even think about¡ Heh, so you just said that to buy time eh? A good enough plan, as long as it is not found out. To think I had you figured as coward and a traitor, when you were really tricking me in order to have me let my guard down before you could strike.
"Excellent plan!¡± He says with a big grin on his face.
¡°¡¡± I was stunned at his sudden change.
This dwarf really likes to jump at conclusions¡
¡°Yes now I understand what she saw in you, boy! Haha, to think you would go and trick this old Bryn like that. Really good thinking.¡± He keeps going on and slaps me on the back a few times while laughing.
I guess I shouldn¡¯t tell him that I only lied because I didn¡¯t know the truth. Had I known the truth I would have given it up without any hesitation. After all what are some random information about people I don¡¯t care about when compared to my life. Hell if he had insisted to the point of threatening my life for it I probably would have helped him kill the princess and some of the heroes. But¡ if I told him that now he would probably try to kill me again¡ better to play along.
So I smiled back at him while trying to look embarrassed.
¡°Well¡ shall we get going then¡ Mr. Bryn?¡± I ask him in an attempt to get passed this whole ordeal.
¡°Just call me Bryn, I ain¡¯t no mister. You know ever since Millie asked me to train you I have been exited for this. We are going to have a good time, you and I.¡±
¡°Right, so what exactly are we going to do? Millie refused to tell me¡¡±
¡°Well first things first. We are going to see how you do in an actual fight. I can¡¯t very well train you if I don¡¯t know how good you are now can I?¡±
¡°Oh, this again. Millie already tried that. Let¡¯s just say that I have no experience in fighting other than from watching others fight and reading about it. So you can treat me like a beginner.¡±
¡°Really? Well it will be apparent soon enough. Come along now let¡¯s head out. I know just the place to go to for a fight.¡± He laughs and starts to guide me out in to the city.
His words gives me a bad feeling, but if might be the fact that every time I head out in to the city something bad has happened. When we pass the guards they stand at attention and salute us. Bryn looks at me and nods approvingly. I can only shrug, not knowing why they are suddenly saluting me whenever I come near them. It might just be the fact that I am clad in armor and they thought I was someone important.
We travel down the main road, which stretches to the city gate a few kilometers in the distance, until we branch of and enters some of the middle class areas. There I am lead to a building that has carvings of demons and angels dancing around and drinking on the walls. Inside there is the sound of drums, a flute and what I believe is a harp along happy chatter of tipsy patrons. It really didn¡¯t seem like the place where you would go for a fight. Rather it seemed like a good place to spend an afternoon with some friends, drinking and enjoying each other¡¯s company.
Nevertheless Bryn lead me inside with confident steps. Inside it wasn¡¯t as much a bar as it was a tavern. Filled with round tables and chairs the patrons faced and open area where they could dance in front of the stage where a group of musicians played a fun and happy tune. We stopped just inside the door while Bryn surveyed the people inside the tavern. I didn¡¯t take long before a man clad in a white apron with a towel on his shoulder caught eye of us and hurried to meet us.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
¡°No! No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not! You ain¡¯t coming in here Bryn. Not after what you did last time you were here. Now get out and don¡¯t destroy anything on the way or I will have Sam take care of you, and this time I ain¡¯t telling him to hold back.¡±
¡°Heh, what are you saying? Ain¡¯t I a valued customer? Since when have you started to threaten your customers like this?¡±
¡°Since you came around and destroyed half my tavern and scared off all my customers! You know I almost went out of business because of you! Half a month this place was empty before a few patrons dared to come back. And then they only came in after I assured them you would not ever come back here. So I would thank you to swiftly turn around and get out. Sam! Would you please show the dwarf outside? Thank you.¡±
A big burly man stood up from a chair by the bar disk and approached us while cracking his knuckles. His face showed a clearly broken nose and a missing ear. After he took a look at Bryn he showed a grin on his face, his smile missing several teeth and his tongue looks grotesque.
¡°Well, well. If id ain¡¯t my good flend Blyn. So good to finally see you again.¡±
¡°Oh, I am surprised you were able to hear you master calling Sam, what with your hearing problem and all¡¡± Bryn taunts while tapping his ear.
Sam¡¯s face darkens and his smile disappears.
¡°Today will be diffelent¡¡± Sam growls and takes a step to charge at Bryn only to be stopped by the bartender.
¡°Sam! Take it up with the dwarf OUTSIDE please.¡± He firmly reminds him.
¡°Humph.¡± He grunts and the starts to herd me and Bryn outside. Bryn take a mocking glance at the bartender as if to say: ¡®I could just start the fight in here if I wanted to¡¡¯ after which he walks outside. I hurry after him.
At this point I could guess what would happen. As such I quickly whispered to Bryn: ¡°You do remember what I said before about me being a beginner, right?¡±
¡°Relax kid, Sam may be big but he is slow and stupid. Besides I am here ain¡¯t I? So don¡¯t worry about it and go enjoy yourself.¡±
As the asshole of a dwarf lead the way in to a wide ally at the back of the tavern he grinned at me while patting giving me reassuring pat on the back. My heart started to beat faster and my legs are started to shake.
He really expects me to fight this guy? Impossible, he is too big. Besides, judging by his face he has experience aplenty. And I am supposed to take him on barehanded? I might be wearing armor but this is insane. Should I just run away? I am sure I would be faster than him¡
As I try to think of a way out of the situation I suddenly stop. I realize that I am thinking about this all wrong. Wasn¡¯t this what I wanted? This is no manikin, no sparring match. Here I can go all out. Here I can try anything. Besides Bryn will probably be able to help me if things gets dangerous.
As I try to calm myself I pull my hair back and I start to wish that I had a helmet. Head injuries are after all the most dangerous. I look down and think of how my head would hit the cobblestone ground and split like an egg.
Oh why did I have to think about that now? Calm down. It¡¯s just a fight, not a death match. Stop thinking about what can go wrong and start thinking about what I should do to take this guy down¡
I look behind me at Sam who is hulking after us. He has big hands, long arms and legs. Wide build. He is not ripped but reminds me a little about Millie. That doesn¡¯t reassure me at all.
Fuck! Okay, he probably won¡¯t even react if I hit him with my fist and if I am caught by those fists and arms then it¡¯s all over. So¡ what can I do? Is there anything? Should I ask Bryn? No I have to do this myself or it won¡¯t matter¡ Argh why is my mind not working. Come on, think!
While I was having a personal crisis we arrived at an open space at the back of the tavern where a small stable housed a few horses. Time for thinking was over.
¡°Okay Sam now before you and me can have at it you have to go through my bodyguard here.¡± Bryn speaks and points at me with his thumb. Sam only gives me a passing glance before scoffing.
¡°Bodyguald? Him? Hah, what you plain¡¯ at Blyn?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Sam you just need to beat this boy a little and then we can have our fun.¡± Bryn assures Sam with a smile.
Hey, aren¡¯t you supposed to be on my side?
¡°Fine, stay right there Blyn, this won¡¯t take long...¡±
With that he faced me with all intentions of starting the fight. My mind was racing in all directions as I kept trying to convince myself that this is what I wanted. Part of me wanted to run away and hide while part of me wanted to move forward. I started to have thoughts of my own death. I was scared and the fear made me unfocused. Therefore it¡¯s not really a surprise that Sam was the first one to move. To me he just suddenly appeared, towering before me like a giant. An enormous fist like a cannon ball shot from the giant¡¯s waist flew strait in to my chest and sent me flying through the air. With shock written all over my face I smacked in to the ground a few meters away.
I thought Bryn said he was slow!
I imagined pain shooting up from my back, arms or legs as I hit the ground and rolled a few times.
I probably skinned my arms and back to the bone from the impact. Not mention the fact that I should have a few ribs cracked. I should avoid moving as much as possible. It doesn¡¯t hurt right now but that might just be due to shock¡ Wait¡ I-it doesn¡¯t hurt at all? Oh right, I have armor on me don¡¯t I?
Feeling like an idiot I scrambled to my feet. There really wasn¡¯t any damage. Even my chest was fine. I might get some bruises later but right now I felt fine. Sam is looking at me with a mocking smile on his face.
¡°You think a little leather will save you from my punches? Hah, bet you have some ribs cracked, eh?¡±
Strangely my fear had disappeared. As if the fact that his first punch was totally nullified and that he himself didn¡¯t even realize it was enough to calm my mind.
I took a deep breath, cracked my neck and got in to a stance. No more useless thoughts to cloud my mind, all I was thinking of were how he moved.
Seeing me take a stance Sam frowned.
¡°Hah, tlying to act tough will get you nowhere, blat!¡± He shouts at me and rushes at me again.
But this time I am ready. This time I am actually paying attention and therefore I could see his movements. He really wasn¡¯t very fast at all. Rather than using speed he was just lumbering towards me in an almost clumsy way. Somehow he reminded me of a gorilla as he bent forward, his long arms and big fists almost touching the ground. Instead of trying to take his fist head on I dodged out of the way to the left. My thought was to get under his right hand punch which was aimed at my face this time, however I was not fast enough and he clipped my shoulder making me stagger as I tried to retain my balance. Not slowing down, Sam turned and tried to grab me with his left hand. Somehow I was able to act faster than him and as his hand reached out to grab my arm I in turn got hold of two of his fingers. I expected him to pull his hand back but contrary to my expectations he only clenched his hand in to a fist and raises his other fist to punch my face in. A tinge of panic rushed through my body and I hurriedly twisted his fingers with all my might. In my haste I used too much force and a clear ¡°Snap!¡± followed by the giant grunting in pain and staggering backwards.
We humans sure are stupid sometimes, as proven by my reaction at that time.
For some idiotic reason, I was afraid that I had hurt the giant who had been just a second away from making paste of my face. And because of that I let go of his broken fingers and took a step back while he grasped his hand, grunting. I, in my worry, stepped towards him and was just about to ask him if he was okay when his expression changed from pain to glee and his healthy hand stretched out and grabbed me by the collar. From behind me I could Bryn¡¯s angry voice call out.
¡°Argh what are you doing you idiot!? You had him why did you let go? And then you just approached the man like a moron wanting to get beat up.¡± He put his hands on his face and sighing with disappointment. Unfortunately I was not at the liberty to respond to his criticism, seeing as I was flying through the air. I saw the wall approaching and curled up in a ball to protect my head. It was more of an instinct than good thinking. So at a force great enough to create a hole the size of my curled up self I slammed in to the wall.
This time my armor was not enough to protect me from taking damage and one of my arms got dislocated in the impact.
¡°Haaaaa!!!¡± I screamed out as pain beamed throughout my body from my shoulder. I fell in to a heap on the ground, groaning in pain.
¡°Well that¡¯s what you get for acting stupid in a fight. Now stop whining and get up already.¡± Bryn complained while looking fed up.
¡°Hah¡hah¡ My shoulder¡ Argh¡¡±
¡°What¡¯s that? Your shoulder? Is it broken or dislocated?¡±
¡°H-How should I know!? God damn it!¡± I keep complaining and groaning as the pain almost blinds me.
¡°Well if I were you I would get back on my feet before Sam gets his fingers back in place.¡± Bryn warns me.
I manage to take a look over at where Sam is standing and quietly is pulling and popping his fingers back in to place.
¡°Oh, too late. Well it was good knowing you, kid.¡±
¡°S-shut up and help me already!¡± I roar at the damn dwarf. ¡°I¡¯m dying here!¡±
¡°Oh, don¡¯t be such a pansy. It¡¯s just a shoulder. Not like he stabbed you or anything. Besides you have another one don¡¯t you? Just stand up and fight with the other arm. It should be easy.¡±
¡°Easy my ass!¡±
At this point a shadow falls over me and Sam stands over me with a big grin on his face.
¡°You gills done with you¡¯le little chat?¡±
¡°Awh, SHIT!¡± I managed to scream as he bends down and deliver a punch that sends me in to the dark.
When I wake up again I see Bryn standing over me, a soft glow enveloping him and myself. When he notice me opening my eyes the glow swiftly disappears and the scoffs at me.
¡°Heh, finally awake are we? Slept well did you? Pff, getting downed in three little hits. I thought heroes were built of sturdier stuff then that. Well are you going to lie there all day? Get your ass off the ground already.¡±
The pain from my shoulder had disappeared and I carefully get to my feet. Feeling a bit groggy still I shake my head before looking around. What I half expected, from what I had heard of Bryn from Millie, was to find the giants body in a bloody heap somewhere. Unfortunately this was not my lucky day. No Sam was still there, as if waiting for me to get back to it.
Not wanting to believe my own fears I ask Bryn:
¡°¡What happened?¡±
¡°Nothing happened, you just passed out like a pansy who never seen his own blood before now get your ass back in to the fight!¡± And with that the shoves me towards Sam, who just cracks his now blue knuckles.
¡°Well then shall we stalt again?¡± He said and rushed me again...
Chapter 10: Dark elves and tournaments.
The sky slowly got brighter and the stars disappeared as the sun rose over the horizon, signaling the start of a new day. My breath is heavy and my clothes are drenched in sweat. I am kneeling, unable to get up any more. In front of me he lies, the giant called Sam.
How many times has it been? How many times have I fallen into darkness only to wake up covered in soft glowing light, the dwarf Bryn standing over me and once more urging me to my feet in order to face the raging giant again? I could not remember. Was this the first time I saw the sun since the fight had started or had days passed as I was unconscious? It no longer mattered. At some point I had tried to run away only to have Bryn drag me back. I had begged Sam to stop, only to have him laugh at my face and taunt me. My bones had been broken like twigs; I had puked blood and thrown up. I had my nose broken every time that enormous fist collided with my face.
At some point I had stopped being afraid of the pain. What use was fear when the pain would come anyway? Like that I had kept fighting. It was strange. How, even when I tried to run or beg, I never gave up. I never accepted the pain, always I tried to protect myself, to find some way of fighting back or to get away. It altered every time. I would try to dodge and stay away from him, only to get caught. I would get angry and attack him head on, only to beaten down. When that didn¡¯t work I would try to create new weaknesses. I would constantly try to attack the same area. I focused on his left leg. Kicking it, punching it, only to be faced with a bored face. It wasn¡¯t until I really started to try to hurt him that the fight turned around. It was when he lifted me by my throat that my chain of thought changed. Until then he had only really thrown me around, or punched me. But when he got fed up he grabbed me and lifted me up while choking me with a single hand. While slowly choking my life consciousness away he had been turning to Bryn and boasted to about something. I had clawed at his hand, kicked at him, all to no avail. I felt how the pressure in my brain increased and felt my consciousness start to fade and still Sam kept talking to Bryn without paying me any attention. My sight disappeared and I was desperate for air. I then realized that this guy didn¡¯t care. I was about to die by his hand and he didn¡¯t even bother looking. Up until now I knew that this fight was dangerous but I always believed that I would be left alive by the end of it no matter the outcome. I always thought that this giant was holding back in order to let me live. I felt myself on the edge of giving up. And then¡
I snapped. I took my fingers and shoved them into his eye. The shock and pain he felt made him recoil and he let go of me at the same time. I fell, coughing heaving, to the ground as the giant screamed a feel himself to the ground. When I saw him rolling around on the ground I, still gasping for breath, somehow got to my feet and approached the man. I stumbled around him and approached his head. My body felt weak and for a second I thought about how I could kill this fucking asshole when I was too weak to even kick him in the head. The answer came to me in the form of an image from a movie I saw once, years ago. Remembering that scene I smiled a little. I had always thought that using that move should really be forbidden since it could make you a cripple for life. But right then and there I didn¡¯t care. What would it matter? Thinking that I smiled and stared down at him, and just like that I jumped up as high as I could. In my mind I reached a height of two meters before falling down on to the giant, but in reality it was more around 30 centimeters. As I was in the air I grabbed my feet and pointed my knees downwards, aiming for him face and neck with either knee. He saw me as I jumped but was unable to react with anything but raising his head slightly off the ground before my knee crushed his other eye and his head smacked back down in the cobblestone. His body convulsed but soon it stopped moving.
After stepping of his body I took a step outside of the alley, into the newly arrived sunshine and sunk there to my knees. It was done. He was dead. The scene played over and over in my mind. My fingers was covered with blood from the man¡¯s eye and felt cold in the morning air. Behind me I heard slow footsteps approaching. I wondered a little what Bryn would say, but then again, fuck that dwarf.
Still gasping in air I was feeling like no matter what happens next I would not move from this spot for a while. I thought that¡ and then Sam stepped out into the sunlight by my side. Like nothing had ever happened he stood there with his back towards me. I was unable to believe my eyes and questioned my own sanity. It wasn¡¯t until he spoke that he became real in my mind.
¡°That should do it, shouldn¡¯t it Bryn?¡±
¡°Yes that will do. Say hello to Belinda for me.¡±
¡°Yea right. If I ever catches you speaking to her again I will really break your neck.¡± Saying that he turns around and I once more can¡¯t believe my eyes. All his wounds have disappeared but that was not what really surprised me. His ear was back, all scars and blemishes had gone away and he looked like a new man. He even spoke like a new man. He looked down on me and smiled, with a mouth full of teeth.
¡°That was some good exercise, eh kid? Maybe we will do it again sometime.¡± And he walks away down the street.
I look at Bryn, wondering what the hell that was about.
¡°What?¡± Was all he said.
¡°Okay fine, just stay like that for a little bit.¡±
He walked behind me and soon enough my body was embraced by a soft glow and my pains, aches, wounds and even my fatigue started to fade away. Within minutes it was as if I had just gotten out of bed the morning before. I got to my feet and turned to the dwarf.
¡°I-¡ Ehm¡ What the hell just happened? What did he mean by a deal? When did you make a deal? And who are you really? Are you a healer or something? And what was the point of all this? I just¡ I don¡¯t¡¡±
My tired mind is unable to keep up with the events that keep on unfolding and questions that I haven¡¯t had time to think about while fighting fills my head.
¡°Hold your horses, boy. Besides, we are going to spend a lot of time together from now on, so there will be plenty of time to talk. For now I am going to find myself a place to sleep for a few days and couple of bottles to empty. After I have had my rest I¡¯ll come find you and we can really get started. Hehehe¡¡± And while laughing, he walks back into the alley.
After gathering myself, I make my way back to the castle. The guards look at me a bit concerned but they still salute and let me pass. After entering I could hear them whispering behind me. As I walk through the castle ground there is not much activity. Only a few servants are walking about, doing chores in the early morning. I make it back to my room and fall on my bed. Sleep takes me away before I can even feel the pillows on my face.
A loud, insistent knocking wakes me up.
¡°What!?¡± I shout out annoyed.
¡°Excuse me my lord but your presence has been required in the grand hall. Uhm¡ for some time now¡ please hurry and get ready. Shall I send for someone to help you get dressed?¡± The voice of an older woman is heard from outside my door.
¡°I-I¡¯m fine, thank you¡ Why do they need me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have not been told. However they are quite insistent that all heroes need to be present.¡±
¡°Urgh, okay. I will be out in just a minute.¡± I crawl out of bed. I notice that I was still wearing my armor. Looking over myself in the mirror, while my hair is all over the place and the armor stinks of sweat, I still give of a respectable look. The armor has held up well despite the thorough beating it had taken. Only if you looked closely could you see faint scratches in the metal where it had hit the stone covered ground.
Since they are waiting, I guess this will have to do.
I take a quick moment to wash my face and to straighten out my clothes a bit before exiting my room. The old woman who had woken me up was still there and quickly led the way to the grand hall. The moment I enter the main hall everyone gets quiet and turns to stare at me. She kept leading me all the way up to the honoree table, not giving me a chance to sit among the rest of the crowd like I usually do. I cover my head with the hood and pull up the scarf. I can feel my face giving of heat and I bet it is almost glowing red. This way I can at least pretend like I am not nervous at all.
The old woman pulls out a chair for me among the other heroes and then steps away to the side where the other servants have gathered. After the hall has been quiet for a few minutes the big doors leading outside opens and 13 people enter in formation. They are all dressed in gray loose fitted robes that are open showing a black silk shirt underneath and black cotton looking pants. They were all armed with a unique weapon. At a glance I could see a tomahawk looking weapon, a spear that had two spearheads, a sword that was wide enough to act like a shield, a long nunchaku looking weapon with short spearheads in either end, and what I could only guess was a belt sword. What caught my eyes the most though were not their clothes nor their weapons but they themselves. Their skin was dark gray; their hair was in colors varying from pure white to stone gray to pitch black. Their builds were slim and their eyes big and dark. What made me realize the name of their race were their ears. Pointy ears stretching upwards 30 centimeters made it clear that these were elves. And if one were to judge by their skin color it was rather obvious that they were dark elves.
My eyes glow as I smile. The fact that I am in this world just makes me happy every time I am reminded of it.
I remember the armorer talking a little about the dark elves when he refused to give me the weapon I had chosen. I guess that is why they are here.
An announcer hurriedly started to announce the elves.
¡°The commander of the dark elves, Liam Phantier, and his retinue, The Twelve! Here to discuss the return of their property and the future relationship between our two races.¡±
Judging by his hasted announcement and the way the elves simply strode all the way up to the honor table and stood in front of the royal family had me thinking that perhaps my delay had pissed them off¡
The elves stop in front of the king and look down on him with disdain.
¡°Bring the Vou¡¯jack to me.¡± He demanded.
Everyone was quiet and a lot of those present, including the nobles and heroes, looked at each other in confusion. Then there was movement from the side of the platform and the Armorer came around the table, holding in his two hands an ornately decorated wooden box which he handed over to Liam with great care. The elf did not pick up the box, only opened it. He then picked up the item inside; it was indeed the sword I had picked out a few days ago. After a quick inspection of the sword the elf suddenly backhanded the dwarf so hard he went flying of the raised platform and lay in a heap next to the wall.
The few soldiers stationed around the hall all draws their swords and some or the heroes rise to their feet. The elves on the other hand only give them a bored look.
¡°You dare have a filthy stone sucker handle an elven soul!?¡± Liam roars at the king. ¡°The very thought insults us all!¡±
The king¡¯s face darkens but before he is able to say anything the queen speaks up.
¡°We are sorry to have insulted you; I assure you that was not our intention. The dwarf is in our employment for his talent in the forge surpasses the rest of us, hence he is in charge of creating and maintaining any weapons and armor that is in our possession. Therefore we concluded that the sword would be best left in his care until it could be returned to its rightful owners.¡± The queen speaks with a calm convincing tone. The elf only frowns slightly at her and stays silent for a while before speaking.
¡°Are you not aware of what the dwarves have done in the past? Do you really not know how they can¡¯t be trusted neither with metal nor with life? And here you freely admit to having this stone lover in your employment? How low the human race must have fallen to depend on such creatures. I have come here to retrieve the soul of my friend and to discuss the possibility of an alliance in the coming calamity, but now I see no reason for such a discussion.¡±
He takes a look around him, taking note of all the heroes one by one.
¡°We have heard the news that the humans have made a summoning. That new heroes have come forth. But I see now only children. Weak fools with no experience and no strength. Are these the ones you shall depend on for aid?¡± His gaze finally reaches mine and he stops for a moment before continuing. ¡°I fear that the humans have ¡®tossed their hopes over the cliff, instead of climbing down himself¡¯. There will be no alliance made between us.¡± At that he turns around and walks out. The queen tries to get him to stop.
¡°Wait! Surely we can at least share a meal together?¡±
The king can¡¯t contain himself and growls.
¡°To just leave, and after such a performance, does the dark elves have no manners?¡± Both of them are ignored by the elves that simply walk out.
Finally, the king is unable to hold back his indignation and calls out:
¡°Guards! Stop them.¡± Three words that he came to regret before they fully left his mouth.
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At his words the Twelve all moved out, with speed and precision, each targeting a separate guard. The guards who already had their weapons drawn were taken care of in the blink of an eye.
I had only been able to watch one of the elves move, it all happened too fast to keep track of the others. The one I watched drew her weapon, a single thin dagger attached to a string, and stepped on a chair, up on the table, on a man¡¯s shoulder, and another¡¯s head that she leapt off while throwing her dagger. It pierced a guard¡¯s eye only to be instantly pulled back and using the momentum it was swung around her body and cut another guard''s throat and then it was again thrown into another¡¯s eye. Her movements were as if she had been an action hero in a movie. They were all too precise, as if she already knew where everything should be and had practiced it for years in order to perform this move, flawlessly. Her moves had carried her halfway across the hall, at least fifty meter in just a few steps and when she landed, dagger in hand, three guards slumped to the ground, groaning and screaming in pain. When I managed to take my eyes of her, every other guard in the room laid dead or in pain.
The Twelve calmly left the grand hall. While this total dominance went on, Liam had not even turned around to take a look. Only kept striding out of the castle.
The king, the royalties, the nobles and the heroes were all looking on in fear and awe.
That day the humans lost an opportunity of gaining an ally that could have saved them from the tides to come.
After the elves had left, healers were swiftly summoned and some of the heroes volunteered to help the injured guards. Since no one had called the meeting over I stayed in my seat. I had no intention of getting any further attention. For all I know I was the reason that elf, Liam, was in a bad mood. For now I think it is best if I just stay here.
The armorer was soon back on his feet, after refusing help from one of the healers. Stretching his neck and groaning in pain he looked over the room before letting out a loud *Humph* and started to complain.
¡°I warned you they wouldn¡¯t be happy to have a dwarf be handling one of their weapons. I told you about our history, but you didn¡¯t want to listen now did you. No I had to be the one to hand over the sword, because you say so. Never mind the fact that the dark skins would skewer me for it. Sigh, why did I ever agree to this¡?¡± He loudly grumbles to himself as he makes his way out of the hall.
After about twenty minutes the hall has been put back into order and the guards that survived have been healed, those that didn¡¯t survive was carried off somewhere by the servants.
¡°Now then, let us put this unpleasantness behind us and move to brighter topics, shall we¡¡± The King announces once everything settled down somewhat. ¡°The reason I called you all together here today was only partially for the sake of the¡ ambassadors of the dark elves. I had hoped to announce this as a celebration to their visit but, as things are¡¡± He stumbles and looks around rather sheepishly. ¡°These are dire times and it will only get worse in the future so in order to get everyone in high spirits, me and the princess have decided to organize, at the end of next month, a grand tournament!¡± He tries to play it off like some big thing, however because of the events unfolded just moments ago only a few sporadic applauds are heard.
¡°¡right, uhm. So, the tournament will consist of several competitions ranging from archery to one on one combat duels, to a showing of magic and a grand joust of course. The participants of the tournament will be our greatest soldiers, the honored heroes, as well as those in the general public who believe they have what it takes.¡± This causes some interesting whisperings in the hall and a few more applauds ring out. I can see the eyes of the heroes shine at the idea of competing. I can¡¯t help but sigh to myself.
For the love of god what do you think this is? Some damn circus for you to perform in? Don¡¯t we have more important things to do, like oh, I don¡¯t know how about learning how to survive? There is a war coming isn¡¯t there?
¡°Of course there can¡¯t be a grand tournament without a grand prize¡¡± At this every single hero, whether man or woman turns their head to look at the princess. ¡°Therefore I will prepare a large sum of gold coins for those that distinguish themselves, as for those who will take the winning spots we shall prepare some suitable weapons, armor and other trinkets fitting to the specific competition.¡± A look of disappointment comes over them, noticing that the king speaks up once more. ¡°But that is not all! To the one accumulating the highest number of points at the end of the tournament, we shall grant him the title of Baron, or Baroness, and all that comes with that title.¡± Now the nobles made a big clamor and cheers erupted among them. I could see some of the other heroes looking confused at the big commotion from this announcement however they just don¡¯t realize how but such a thing is.
This means that during this tournament a regular commoner could raise himself and his family to the status of nobility and even be granted land that comes with the title. You could compare it to getting an Olympic medal, while being given a mansion, raising the status of your family to that of politicians and winning millions on the lottery, all at the same time. People will swarm at the opportunity.
After the announcement there are some slightly awkward celebrations in honor of this grand idea. Food is being carried in on lavish plates and everyone starts to enjoy themselves while talking about the prospects of the coming event. Meanwhile servants do their best to casually clean up the traces of blood from the previous fight. It is clear that they had planned this out, only to have it ruined and are now trying to piece it all back together. I can only shake my head at the situation.
After eating my fill I observe the room until I feel that I can leave without any problems. I then stand up and with a slight bow to the king I get out of the grand hall.
The rest of the day was uneventful as I spent it in my room, resting. Come morning the entire castle is buzzing with the news of the tournament. Even as I sit down to eat breakfast I hear the servants, who by now have gotten somewhat used to the idea that I will sit among them, talk about their expectations for the tournament and who they would like to see competing. Apparently Hank, whom I have met before, is a bit of a fan favorite among them. There was also excited talk about the mages who would be showing of their magic. As usual the fire mages and the frost mages have the most attention.
How dull, I hope I get to see some more interesting magic. Maybe some shape shifting or something more impressive stuff. It would be nice if I could see something I have never seen before¡
After eating I get back to training my body. I feel like I might have fallen behind the others since I have not been following a schedule other than my own whims really, so I was surprised when I showed clear progress during my training session. I was now able to keep going for an hour before needing to rest. The body of a hero is still shocking me with its rapid development. I continue working hard until midday where I get some food and go take a nice long bath. This time I use the bathroom instead of having the wooden tub brought to my room. I was almost alone in there and the few men who came and went left me alone. When I had enjoyed the hot water long enough that I was starting to get dizzy, I get back to my room and rest for a while longer. As the day started to come to an end I got dressed in new clean clothes, my armor had been sent to the cleaners after a maid had discovered that it was causing my room to stink.
Feeling nice and fresh I made my way back to the castle gardens once more.
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¡°Hey, Millie!¡± The dwarf waves to the bandit looking woman.
¡°Ah, there you are Bryn. I was wondering if you were ever going to show up.¡±
¡°Well you know me; I had to take care of a few problems before I came.¡±
¡°I trust those problems are still alive¡¡±
¡°What, do you really think that low of me? I left that behind me when I came to the surface with you, you know that.¡±
¡°Old habits die hard¡¡±
¡°Heh, you¡¯re one to talk about old habits. As I recalled the reason I even left with you was because¡¡±
¡°Bartender! Get me and my friend here a drink so I can shut him up, please.¡±
¡°Heh, now you¡¯re talkin my language Millie.¡± He says and accepts the mug of ale when the bartender hands it to him.
¡°So, since you clearly didn¡¯t call me out here to reminisce about old times, what was it you wanted to talk about?¡±
¡°Hmm¡ It¡¯s a bit complicated. You know about the heroes, right?¡±
¡°Oh, the snot nosed brats that the king likes to parade around the town. What about them?¡±
¡°Well while most of them are indeed nothing but children, I met one of them who is a bit, shall we say, peculiar.¡±
¡°Oh, no. You know I don¡¯t swing that way. Only ladies can catch the eyes of this dwarf.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be an ass. That was not what I meant. Normally a hero is said to be all honor and strength you know. Sacrificing themselves for the good of the land and all that. You have heard the stories. And most of the kids that were summoned are like that. But this one guy, he is different. Rather than training with the others I found him in the secluded area at the back of the barracks, training by himself. After talking to him he told me that he didn¡¯t believe in all that fighting with honor, bullshit that the knight commander tends to spew out every now and then. Instead he told me he wanted to learn the opposite. Can you imagine my surprise when a hero, summoned to help defend the people against the summoned hordes told me straight to my face that he had no intention whatsoever to help us out. That he even considered us to be in the wrong and resented us for summoning him, have you ever heard of such a thing?¡±
¡°He must be mad, I¡¯m sure you set his back straight eh? Hahaha¡±
¡°That¡¯s the thing though. He was right; it is our fault for summoning him, for summoning all of them. That got me thinking, we are going to send these kids out there to fight our fight, while we hide behind our walls. And in order to prepare them for that what do we teach them? We have them spar against each other with wooden swords and rules so that they don¡¯t hurt themselves. We forbid them to use the so called dishonorable combat skills. Fuck, we might as well send the prancing nobles out the front line. So that got me thinking, right, what if we did the opposite. What if we taught them the way to fight dirty, how to throw sand in the opponent''s eyes and then gouge them out, how to attack from behind and where to shiv them with a knife. You know, like us. People like us have always looked down on the noble¡¯s way of doing things, hell I don¡¯t think there is a person in the underworld that would ever lose to a noble in a real fight. Just imagine if a hero was able to fight like we do? He would be unstoppable right?¡±
¡°Heh, but then would he really be a hero? Doesn¡¯t that sound more like a villain to you? Besides you said it yourself, he doesn¡¯t want to help us. Why would you waste your time on a person who would only betray you and leave when you need him the most? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I agree that if we could teach a hero how to really fight then he would become a monster, but you have to think about the reason anyone would want to learn that way of fighting. And this guy doesn¡¯t sound like he can be trusted. Hell for all we know he might join the demon hordes when they come rather than fight for us.¡±
¡°Oh must you be so damn dramatic? Who cares about any of that! Have there ever been heroes who have been able to understand our kind? Has there ever been even a hint of sympathy? No, we have always been considered the bad guys. To them we are the same as the damn demons! The bard''s even sing merry tunes about the ¡®heroic¡¯ slaughter of our comrades. I say fuck that! If the nobles have to have heroes to hunt us I say let¡¯s make our own hero!¡±
¡°¡I don¡¯t know Millie. I just don¡¯t think it will work.¡±
¡°At least meet with the guy and make your own opinion. I have a good feeling about him but maybe I¡¯m blinded by my dreams and need another set of eyes to see the truth. Will you be my eyes?¡±
¡°Stop flirting with me Millie, I ain¡¯t falling for that again. Fine, I just have to meet the guy right? Maybe I will test him a little while I¡¯m at it¡¡±
¡°Go for it. As long as you let him live. But knowing you he will probably beg to die before you are done ¡®testing¡¯ him. Hehe, I still remember that time you captured a goblin and¡¡±
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Chapter 11: The last peaceful day.
(A/N:Okay, a bit of an info dumping chapter. I think I am going to start adding in some trivia at the end or in the beginning of the chapter like I did here. In fact i am thinking of adding sections to past chapters with information about the world and how things function. Things the MC will not uncover for himself for a while... but maybe i shouldn''t and let you experience it with the MC? Let me know! : )
The sun was nice and warm on my back while I walked around the garden for a bit. I discovered a fruit tree filled with some fruit I tasted at dinner before, though I didn¡¯t know what kind of fruit it really was. I picked a couple since I liked their taste and made my way to my favorite spot.
As I was about to enter circle of flowers when I hear someone humming. A girl is there, poking around among the flowers. I recognized her from before, it is that girl who bothered me last time I was resting here. I thought to leave when she saw me.
¡°Oh, hello. I didn¡¯t see you there.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t mean to intrude.¡± I say while giving a tiny bow. She was annoying last time so I wanted to avoid her, though not to the point of being rude.
¡°Oh it¡¯s no problem. I rather enjoyed your company last time we met. It is not every day that I can have a conversation with one of you heroes.¡± She says with an inviting smile.
Ah well it¡¯s not as if it will do any harm, I think and join her.
¡°Are you the one who grew these?¡± I ask and gesture to the rainbow ring of flowers surrounding us.
¡°Haha, no. taking care of them is just a hobby of mine, it helps me think. Normally there are hired gardeners who grow and care for the garden.¡± She removes a pair of leather gloves and leans against sits down on the raised stone garden bed. I toss her one of the fruits and join her.
¡°Oh, thank you! I was just getting a little peckish.¡±
We sit there and eat for a little bit in silence. I was just starting to enjoy myself in the sun and then the questions started.
¡°So how goes the training? I heard that some of you have already reached the third level of magic. A feat that normally would take at least a year, if you had the talent for it.¡±
¡°I have yet to really start my magic training. The teacher pissed me of so I have been wondering if I should switch. The problem is that by now all the others are far ahead of me so I would probably only hold them back if I joined them.¡±
¡°I see, who was it that you wanted to study under? I have seen that the teachers in fire and ice magic are very popular among the heroes. Were you perhaps one of those?¡±
Nosy¡
¡°No, I instead had interest in learning earth magic, because of its wide applications. However as the mage in charge was a lazy pig who would rather sleep then help prepare me for the war; I more or less gave up on it.¡±
¡°I see¡¡± She goes quiet for a little while, chewing on the fruit.
¡°So you have been focusing on fighting then? The knight commander has been very pleased with the progress you heroes have made since arriving. What is your weapon of choice? I bet it is something like a sword or a spear, right?¡±
¡it would probably be bad if I told her that I was currently about to start my training from a drunk bar fighting dwarf.
¡°I have yet to choose a weapon for myself. The one I was interested in was recently taken away by the dark elves.¡±
¡°Oh, that was a sword was it not? Mother told me about it once, the weapons of the dark elves that are said to contain their soul. Apparently they believe that when a child is born, it is incomplete. That is why their parents make a wooden weapon or tool for the child, in order to impart their knowledge to them. As the child grows up they are thought the use of the weapon or tool and over time they will improve on the wooden tool, slowly they will start to change its appearance, adding metal and removing wood, until only a small piece of the original wooden version remains. That wooden piece is there to represent where they came from, just like our names. After such a long time with a single weapon or tool it becomes like an extension of themselves and therefore the elves believe that they start to share their soul with it. After all they have spent their entire life with it, working on how to best use it, how its function can be improved. Constant improvement that is the way of the dark elves. An admirable way of life, don¡¯t you agree? Unfortunately it makes them look down on those that lack their sense of devotion. As if they are beneath them and not worthy of their time. It is a shame that they did not become out allies.¡±
Her mouth finally stopped talking. While it was nice to get some insight in to the world of the dark elves, which really seem to be like the old samurais who would spend a life time devoted to a single task, something about her speaking made the words she said go right over my head. She almost sounded like a teacher who was far to invested in her subject. I had to really concentrate on the words she spoke in order to retain what she was actually saying. I could feel the strain on my brain¡
¡°So, you have not been learning magic, nor have you been training with a weapon. What have you been doing then?¡± She suddenly squints and looks at me suspiciously.
¡°I have been preparing in my own way¡¡± I say vaguely.
¡°Does that involve traveling in to the city at night only to return the next day with tattered clothes still dripping of blood and sweat? I have heard the rumors you know. They say that one of the heroes tend to leave the city at night and hunt the thieves and bandits in the city, bringing justice to those that are too weak to fend for themselves. They say that he is always hiding his identity so that the bandits can¡¯t retaliate against him and that he already have gained the respect of the soldiers and guards of the castle for his deeds. Well, that is at least what the maids are saying so I bet not all of it is true¡¡± She trails of and stares at me.
Where the hell did that come from!? Is this really what they are saying about me? Well, it is better than the truth I guess. I can¡¯t imagine what they would say if they knew all I had been doing in the city was getting drunk and being beaten up.
I try to erase the look of surprise from my face and look serious but I am obviously too late as a smile of victory spreads on her lips.
¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry I will not tell anyone of your identity, Mr. Lone Hero.¡±
¡°Wait what did you just call me?¡±
¡°The Lone Hero. That is what the maids are calling you.¡±
¡°I am just going in to town to drink, not act like some vigilante. And that is such a terrible name.¡± I grasp my face in despair.
What have I done!? I knew I should have chosen a decent name for people to call me by. I knew I had dragged it out too long, but I wanted to at least have done something to represent it. But this was too horrible. I mean come on, The Lone Hero? Can you get anymore cheesy? No, no you can¡¯t, that is as cheesy as it gets.
¡°Uhu, of course you were. And if anyone asks then that is what I will tell them.¡± She didn¡¯t buy it. ¡°Well let¡¯s talk about something more else then. Are you looking forward to the tournament? It is the talk of the town. The fact that anyone can come compete have already spread outside the walls of the city, and there are a lot of speculation as to who would do well in the competition. Several noble sons are talking about competing in order to show off their dueling skills. But I think most of us are excited to finally be able to see how the heroes will fare. Especially the girls, they never talk about anything else. Who do you think will do well in the tournament?¡±
¡°¡I really can¡¯t say. I have yet to see what the others can do. I have heard that Hank, one of the castle guards, is favored to do well, however I am unable to say for sure. All I know is that if Millie were to compete then the rest of us would probably be better off avoiding fighting her.¡±
¡°Millie¡ Hmm do you mean the assistant commander? The one whom the knight commander recommended? I never knew she was someone to look out for.¡±
¡°Trust me, I have firsthand experience.¡± I say and rub my back, remembering how she tossed. ¡°Other than her I guess if Bryn or Sam were to compete then they would be rather good.¡±
¡°By Sam, do you perhaps mean Samuel Whitewing? The noble son of Barras Whitewing?¡±
¡°I doubt it. Unless that guy is a huge muscle mountain who works as a bouncer at one of the inns in the city.¡±
¡°Oh then no, Samuel is rather frail looking. Who was the other one you mentioned?¡±
¡°Bryn, he is a dwarf.¡±
¡°Hmm, not too many of their kind around here, I am surprised to say I don¡¯t know who that is.¡±
¡°Well I¡¯d say he most likely travels in very different circles from yourself so it¡¯s no surprise you do not know of him.¡±
At this time I was finally saved as a voice called out.
¡°My lady? It¡¯s time.¡± As I turn to look at the origin of the voice I see a woman in plate armor and a giant two handed sword on her back.
¡°Ah, I guess so. Well I have to go now; perchance we will meet here again sometime?¡±
¡°If I have the notion.¡± I think she enjoyed the vagueness of my reply as she smiled knowingly before taking her leave.
If only she was my type¡
The next day I receive a letter where the earth mage asks me to join him in his study. Judging by the timing I figured that the girl had something to do with it. I did as I was asked and went to his study. Asking a maid for directions along the way of course.
Knocking on the doors to his study a voice I didn¡¯t recognize called for me to enter. Inside there was a mess. Stacks of books placed on where ever they could fit. Paper and scroll cases littered the floor and what I could only think of as random junk was mixed with it all. Sitting behind his desk was the mage, who had a very unhappy look. He almost looked like he wore a sad mask, as if he was using all his strength to look as unhappy as possible. I could clearly see that the reason for his unhappiness was not my own appearance at his study but rather the old woman who was sitting in a chair and sipping a cup of what I guessed was tea. Her hair was gray as stone and she wore half-moon glasses on her nose and a small black hat, pinned to her hair. She was dressed in a black and violet dress, filled with enough lace to not really show any real fabric. It was the kind of dress that covered her entirely, showing only the skin on her face and hands. In my mind she looked like a stern teacher from old movies, or perhaps like a mean Mary Poppins.
¡°You wanted to see me¡?¡± I ask carefully. I was thinking of coming in and start berating this guy once more, telling him that if he wanted to meet with me he could get of his fat ass and come himself. But the presence of this woman got me curious.
¡°Haaaa¡¡± The mage sighed with force. ¡°I was not the one who wanted to meet you but rather madam Gray here. Apparently she had heard of our little scuffle the other day and was inclined to, as they say, butt in. I really don¡¯t want to do this but she insisted. So much so that she has been sitting there, staring at me for the better part of the day. It¡¯s starting to drive me nuts. I can¡¯t work unless she goes away, and she won¡¯t go away until I called you so now that I have I pray I will be rid of her.¡±
¡°Oh, hush, Theodore. You make it sound like I came here only to pester you.¡±
¡°Please, don¡¯t call me that¡¡±
¡°Why ever should I not call you by your name?¡± The madam Gray said while hiding a smile behind her cup as she took another sip. The mage could sigh some more before she turned her attention to me.
¡°My name is Mrs. Aubrey Gray, duchess of Westriver. You can call me Mrs. Gray. And you, I assume are one of the heroes, yes? Yes, of course you are. Theodore here, oh don¡¯t glare at me like that Theodore, has told me that you have shown interest in learning from him, is that correct?¡±
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I don¡¯t know how to handle this woman. I can honestly say that I have only ever seen anyone close to her character in books and on TV, and even there I was unsure of how you should best react to them. Since I was feeling insecure I decided to take the safe route. Short and polite.
¡°Yes, mam.¡±
¡°May I ask as to why you wish to learn from him?¡±
I think for a few seconds before I answer her.
¡°Earth magic is in my opinion one of the most versatile and useful magic¡¯s to know. With it you can create things that last and as such you can build houses, construct walls and such, but it can also tear them down. I imagine that I would be able to get out of almost any situation using earth magic and the applications for earth magic in war should be more useful than any of the other elemental magic¡¯s. Of course I am only speaking from my own experience and imagination so I might be wrong.¡±
¡°I can hear that you have put quite a bit of thought in to it. From what I have seen and heard most of the other heroes have chosen more, shall we say, flashy types of magic. So I am a little curious as to your opinion on the other types.¡±
¡°I simply believe that there are uses for them all, but learning only one of them would only limit me. I do intend to learn at least a basic amount of the other types of magic eventually. Being able to light a fire or to conjure up water would greatly help me survive on my own. Also having the ability to heal wounds will be invaluable. Then there are the more obscure types that I know too little about to have an opinion right now. I might want to learn some shape shifting, if it¡¯s not too hard. Being able to fly like a bird or breath under water like a fish would probably be useful at some point.¡±
¡°Oh, so you do have an interest in the other types of magic. How intriguing. I was just having a conversation with the knight commander, a week or so ago, about this. Whether having a high knowledge in one type of magic would be more beneficial than having lesser knowledge in several types of magic. The knight commander is a firm believer in destructive magic, and if he was able to choose he would probably have everyone learn how to cast [firestorm] and [lightning strike], and nothing else. Thankfully magic of that magnitude require a higher knowledge in their respective elements so he had to give up his ambition to a certain degree.
Contrary to him, I am of the standpoint that it would be better if you heroes learned a broader spectrum of magic. Not only would it help you to survive longer, but it would also give you more, as you said before, versatility.¡± She stops and looks pointedly at the mage who grimaces and looks away.
¡°I am of the same mind Mrs. Gray.¡±
¡°Excellent, then it¡¯s settled.¡± She puts her cup down and stands up as if everything has been decided.
¡?
¡°Wait, what¡?¡±
¡°I shall expect you at my room after dinner in the morrow. Do take care to come with a full stomach, for we will be at it for quite some time.¡±
¡°Stop, hold on for a moment. What are you talking about? What¡¯s decided? I don¡¯t remember agreeing to anything.¡± I say confused over the sudden turn of events.
¡°Oh don¡¯t be silly. Did you not say that you were of the same mind as me?¡±
¡°Well, yes but¡¡±
¡°Good, then there is nothing more to talk about. I shall see you tomorrow after lunch. And please be on time, I do not enjoy waiting.¡± With that she left, not hearing any further questions.
I stand there dumbfounded. What was it I had agreed to? And who was this duchess really?
¡°Eh¡¯hem!¡± I hear a firm cough from the mage. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are going to start hanging around here too.¡± He points out.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t dream on it.¡± I say and leave.
Thinking that I might as well get some exercise while I wait for tomorrow to come I go to the training yard. On my way out of the castle I see the other heroes gathering. Judging from their conversation, they have been invited by one of the nobles to join in a hunt. Trying to ignore them I walk passed but before I managed to get out I ear tiny feet running before feeling a tug on my sleeve. I look down behind me and see a little girl standing there.
¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you one of us? Where are you going?¡± She looked tinier then she sounded. I guess at that age we all try to sound older then we are.
¡°I have things to do so I am going outside. And, what are you doing?¡±
¡°We are going outside the city with Mr. Whitewing. He asked us to come and hunt with him.¡±
¡°Well¡ have fun I guess.¡± I say and I turn to leave again.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you come with us?¡± She asks me confused.
¡°Why should I do that? He didn¡¯t ask me to come.¡±
¡°But I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t mind¡¡±
¡°¡Don¡¯t worry about it, little one. To hunt you probably have to ride a horse, and I don¡¯t know how so I would rather not come, ok?¡±
¡°Fatima!? What are you doing over there?¡± Some older girl called out to her. She frowns and looks back at me.
¡°Go on.¡± I shoo her away.
¡°I¡¯m not a dog¡¡± She mutters and walks back to the group.
Strange kid¡
The rest of the day I spent marveling at my own progress and training. I was now able to work out for around 2 hours before falling to the ground exhausted. By now I really had to push myself to get to the limit, rather than just train until I was tiered. I could feel myself quickly getting to the state of mind where I was happy with my progress and didn¡¯t need more. Of course I know such thoughts are destructive, but they are getting harder and harder to ignore.
When I finally decide to stop I see that I am being watched.
¡°You¡¯re here already? I didn¡¯t expect you until sometime tomorrow.¡± I say while washing my neck with cold water from one of the water barrels.
¡°Well I got done early so I figured we might as well start. You want to begin as soon as possible right?¡± Bryn answered.
¡°I guess¡¡±
¡°Hehe I thought so. I heard about the tournament. I bet that¡¯s why you want to get in to shape.¡± He smiles knowingly.
You don¡¯t know shit.
¡°Think what you want. I need to get changed before we go.¡± I shrug.
¡°Okay, just hurry it up. I don¡¯t want to be here too long. I¡¯m allergic.¡± He rubs his nose.
¡°Huh, to fresh air and clean clothes maybe.¡± I laugh and go to change.
Once I got back down I found Bryn chatting with a maid.
That damn dwarf may be a drunk and a mean fighter but, from the look of it, he sure knows how to woe a woman. Although he was only half her size she still looked down at him all big eyed and red cheeked.
I thought to myself as I approached them
¡°With eyes like yours I bet even the king, who has the entire country under his belt, can hardly keep himself from pulling you in to his chamber.¡±
*SLAP* The sound of it echoed out in the courtyard.
I guess he wasn¡¯t as good as I thought.
¡°I¡¯m a respectable person! No damn whore of the king you stinking dwarf!¡± With that she stomps off. Her face showing anger rather than the cute embarrassment I thought I had seen before.
Bryn rubs is face with a sour look as he see me coming.
¡°The hell you smiling for? Do you enjoy another man¡¯s misery?¡±
¡°One man¡¯s misery, another man¡¯s joy. You of all people should know that.¡± I tell him still smiling as I think of how he made me fight Sam.
¡°Oh shut up and let¡¯s go.¡±
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Magic theory class #1: Basic history and the application of magic circles.
Magic is commonly thought of as the ability to cast spells, summon creatures or things and to cure ailments. This is false. Magic is not destruction, creation or healing. Magic is the ability to gather and manipulate mana.
In the early days of magic in order to store mana and then use it for casting spells mages would keep a pet animal or a slave and force mana in to their body. This would eventually form an opening inside their soul where the mana could be stored. Unfortunately the process was very painful and as such mages was feared as monsters. The fact that the subject, or familiar as they are called nowadays, had to be sacrificed and their soul had to leave their bodies before the mage could access the mana didn¡¯t exactly help their reputation. In those days mages were few and far between, many traveling the world never settling down in fear of getting hunted.
Around 2300 years ago the first change in this method happened after the discovery of a cave, hidden behind a waterfall. Inside was a stone monument depicting the way to use magic circles. This marked a massive change among the mages who before this had only been able to cause small types of influence based magic like calling rain, manipulating basic feelings, curing illness or cursing a target. Most of which could be explained away by the common folk on superstition and luck. But due to the discovery of the magic circle and its uses, mages turned in to a formidable force. The reason lays in the way magic forms spells.
First, what is a spell? A spell is a predetermined effect using a set amount of materials, preparation and mana in order to achieve that effect. A magic circle simply increases the amount you can add to your spell. Using a magic circle allows you to have several mages cast a single spell, thereby increasing the amount of mana you can pour in to the spell. Likewise you can add in detailed instructions having your spell do more things. The materials mentioned are material things that can increase a spells power or affinity. It first became relevant after several other discoveries but for now let¡¯s just say that using magic circles they could use the mana from more familiars.
As mages became able to use magic circles they became able to radically change their spell and increase both their power and their usage. From being able to summon a small drizzle of rain to being able to drown a region, the view of mages quickly changed to the public. Suddenly mages became more than just an object of fear and loathing, and was looked upon like something closer to the gods. Cults or worship were started, dedicated to mages and their powers. This sudden attention made the mages mad with power and eventually it lead to ¡®The Great Witch Hunt¡¯. Men in the kingdom gathered together and on the kings order they began to hunt down and burn all those who used magic. From then on mages was looked at evil and they gained the title of witches. Mages all over the continent had to go in to hiding. It was the darkest of times for magic users and serves as a reminder to us all not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
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(A/N:Time skipping will now commence! don''t worry you will only miss a few broken noses, arms, legs, gouged eyes, crushed groins and even a few stick ups, highway robbery, purse snatching and one or two enforcer jobs. Oh and most of the MC''s magic training. Because from what i have heard you guys all say: fuck that shit! :)
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Chapter 12: The day before the tournament.
(A/N: I tried, so hard, to make this chapter be the beginning of the tournament but I just couldn''t so that will be next chapter, I promise. Oh and i blame Pathfinder for being late with the chapter, been looking in to that game for way too much lately.)
¡±Okay, I guess we are done for today.¡± Bryn finally speaks the words I have been dying to hear. ¡°I suppose congratulations are in order for passing this month¡¯s training program.¡±
¡°Training program!? You¡¯re fucking with me right?¡±
¡°Hahaha, come on now don¡¯t be like that. It has been a good month for the both of us, right?¡±
¡°Good month my ass! All you ever did was throw me in to fucked up situations and say ¡°deal with it¡±, while you watch. Every day I¡¯ve suffered for your schemes and what do I got to show for it? A few silver coins and half the city wanting me dead!¡±
¡°Oh don¡¯t blame me for your lack of coins; I never forced you to bet your money. I just suggested that we could. Besides had you won you would be the one with all the gold while I would have been the one with the few silvers.¡±
¡°Fuck you Bryn. I know you cheated me on those bets! You never gave me the information I needed nor did you¡
¡°¡So sorry to butt in like this, but¡ Ehm¡ do you mind letting go of my colleague? He is starting to go blue¡¡± A small man interrupted me...
I look down at the one he was talking about. He was lying on a table inside the room while I was standing next to him, my hand squeezing his windpipe.
¡°Why should I? He is the one, who decided to attack me, if I were to just let him go then him what is to stop him from attacking me again once he recovers?¡±
¡°I do believe that his broken arms would be a big deterrent¡¡±
¡°Hah! Yea right. As if he couldn¡¯t just get a healer to fix him right up. Don¡¯t take me for an idiot. Just a week ago that same thing happened where a friend tried to have me let his buddy go, promising that they would not retaliate. It didn¡¯t take them two days before they came out and dragged me in to an alley in order to get revenge. I¡¯m damn lucky that they were drunk as hell or I would never have gotten out of there alive. So no, I am not going to let go of your friend here until I have a valid reason to believe that him and his friends¡¡± I gesture to the rest of the room where eight men lay unconscious or groaning in pain. ¡±¡won¡¯t come to bother me in the future.¡±
Most of them have broken bones or are bleeding from various wounds caused by the broken furniture and kitchen utensils that litter the ground. I myself have big bruises on my face and one of my fingers has been broken on my free hand.
The small man nervously grasped his hands and gazed around the room.
¡°I-if I may be so bold, I do believe that in order to heal up the wounds that you have inflicted on them, with all right of course, they will have to have plenty of time to rest. Also I can assure you that after this event they will most certainly never think of getting revenge¡ So if you don¡¯t mind¡¡± The little man¡¯s gaze wandered from me to his friend on the table and back.
¡°Like I said, unless I have some guarantee that they won¡¯t I ain¡¯t going to let go.¡±
¡°W-well if you would just release you grip temporarily I am sure my friend here can assure you about it himself¡¡±
¡°Oh fine!¡± I say and release my grip enough that the man can gasp for breath, the color of his face soon changes back from a bluish purple to a deep red color as he coughs and hacks.
¡°Ohy!¡± I squeeze his pipe some more in order to get his attention. ¡°Well, what do you say? Will you guys come after me after you have healed your wounds? Maybe gather up some more men first and then ambush me in the middle of the night, something like that? Huh!?¡±
Unable to speak he just shakes his head vigorously, his eyes wide in terror.
¡°Oh, so you will leave me alone from now on then?¡±
He nods and I can see him starting to relax a bit.
¡°I see now if only you could make me believe you¡¡± I can see a new light go over his eyes and as he struggles to draw a breath I loosen my grip a little.
¡°Pa¡ p-pou¡¡± He manages to squeeze out.
¡°I am assuming you mean your pouch right?¡± He nods again.
¡°Okay so I will take the pouch as a sign of good faith this time. But if there is a next time then you will not have this opportunity, alright?¡± With a final nod I let go of him and walk to Bryn who is sitting on the bar, drinking mug after mug of ale.
¡°Well, we are done here, shall we get moving? You obviously need to get yourself cleaned up.¡±
¡°Yea, no thanks to you. Did you know Millie was boasting about you before I met you, said that you were some great fighter. Yet all this time I have never once seen you throw a punch.¡±
¡°Well a good fighter knows to let other do the fighting, haha!¡± He laughs and grabs the bag behind the counter that we came here for. ¡°Well Winnie, I trust you have no further objections to me taking this, right? After all you did promise it¡¡±
¡°Ah, yes¡ I-¡of course. It¡¯s all yours just, don¡¯t come back here okay?¡±
¡°That depends on you keeping up with your payments Winnie.¡± With that we waltz on out of there. Just in time too, as the guards come running from up the road.
¡°We running?¡± I ask Bryn with a sigh.
¡°Do you have to ask that every time? Of course we¡¯re running!¡±
I hate running from guards. They are so damn persistent. And when I have to go back to the castle I always feel bad when they salute me. Even though they probably chased me all over the city by now.
The reason I hadn¡¯t been asked about that was my cloak. By now the dirt had made it look just like any other cloak, just one of hundreds in the city. So when the guards started chasing me and all they saw was my cloak, I was able to get away without consequence. Speaking of getting away, I had gotten rather good at it.
I followed Bryn around the building we just came out of and in to the alley leading to the main street. As soon as we got there, me and Bryn split off, each heading a different direction to meet up later in the evening. Once I saw that no guard was in sight I removed the hood and arranged the cloak behind my shoulders rather than drabbed around me, showing off my armor underneath. Then I started wandering while leisurely looking around, going into shops and stands here and there. I paid a few copper for a pie piece and sat down in the sun eating while looking around with a bored look. It didn¡¯t take long for the Guards to finally show up, swearing a storm at loosing us again.
¡°This is the third time those violent bastards slip out of our fingers this week. Gods take me, the next time I see them I will shoot on sight!¡±
I sigh at the incompetence of guards in this city. I mean sure they have swords and armor and they know how to use them but if you compare them to modern day police then they are like a gang that can only do something if they catch you in the act. And even then they have to actually catch you. Hell if they even had the same mindset as a police officer then they would have been able to easily find me. After all plenty of people saw me exiting the alley with the dwarf, they saw me take off my hood, getting a pie and sitting down here, a mere twenty meters form the angry guards. Really they can ask anyone about a man and a dwarf coming out from the alley and they would point me out in seconds. Yet the guards just stamped the ground in frustration before getting back to their posts.
Idiots...
After I finished my pie I got up and left for the castle. It was a bit early but I was still looking forward to relaxing in the gardens.
In the past month it had become an almost daily routine. In the morning I would stretch and do some warm-up exercises that i made up myself. Then I would meet Bryn somewhere inside the city, most of the time I would have to find him rather than meet him at a set location though. After he¡ trained me¡ I would head back to the castle to eat after which I would meet Mrs. Gray for her lessons. And come evening I would go to the gardens for some quiet time. The girl would just happen to have the same idea and join me.
We would never really chat for long but those times had slowly become something I unconsciously longed for. Of course if you asked me about it at the time I would have said that she was only an annoyance and that I would rather have been alone. But the truth was that I had come to like my encounters with this strange girl and her many questions. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there was no romantic feelings involved, she just didn¡¯t fit my preferences. That and she were too young for my taste, a mere teenager. After she had misunderstood my dealing in town she never brought it up again and instead we played this game where I never really told her what I had been doing in the city, and she never really told me who she really was. It was a fun game.
After changing and sending my armor and clothes to the cleaners with instructions to have it done by the morning, they had gotten used to it by now; I went to the kitchen and ordered a picnic basket. Then I walked to the garden. By now my feet already knew the way to where I wanted to go.
The garden was, as always, in full bloom. Flowers and herbs showering the air with a refreshing sent. I had asked one of the gardeners once if the garden was always in bloom thanks to magic and they had reassured me that it was all thanks to the god¡¯s good will that the garden had been in such beautiful condition ever since the heroes had been summoned. A bunch of nonsense. In other words yes, it was thanks to magic that it had kept blooming like this. Most likely the royal family had asked a few mages and druids to cast spells on them in order to keep up the farce that it was all the gods will, and that the gods stood behind the royal family¡¯s decision etc. I personally just didn¡¯t care enough to point it out to them and so instead I chose to enjoy the blooming garden.
I entered the rainbow circle that had come to be my spot and sat down in the grass. I decided to wait a little to see if I would get some company before digging in. To entertain myself while I waited I started to do some magic exercises. They were the other part of my daily training, on Mrs. Grays order. That woman was a pain to deal with. She never listens to others opinions and just makes up her own. After arranging my visit to her quarters she swiftly introduced one elemental magic teacher after another and had them teach me, one by one. They were of the classic, wind, fire, water, earth, elements but also teachers focusing on variants of those elements like ice, lightning, sand and so on. But instead of teaching me like they would the others they were under strict orders to teach me only the useful parts of their magic.
A good example would be the fire magic teacher. While fire magic can be very powerful, summoning rains of fire to burn your foes and calling out magma to melt anything in to slag, the only really useful part of fire magic is to light something on fire and to increase the temperature of something. Those two things were all he was allowed to teach me. Which suited me just fine; using those two simple spells I could manage without any problems. After all why should I need to rain down fire from the heavens when I could just set someone on fire using a much simpler spell? Why should I call forth magma from the earth in order to melt things in to slag when I could just heat it up until it melted?
No Mrs. Gray really had the right idea, if only she wasn¡¯t so darn forceful with it. I mean she would more or less ignore any and all complaints, thoughts or opinions unless she had first asked for them. And the way she would look down on you¡ Anyway after she had them teach me the simple spells form each element she then had me do the hole sit down and meditate thing in order to expand my ¡°mana pool¡±, you know, that hole in my soul, by forcing in more mana then it could contain. This process was normal for a mage to keep doing until the image of his soul was only a thin layer outlining the mana pool.
Unfortunately something went wrong and on the third day as I was sitting there trying to stretch my soul; I suddenly felt an incredible amount of pain throughout my entire body. Screaming I collapsed in spasms and all I could think was ¡°please don¡¯t tell me this is epilepsy, anything but that¡±. Luckily it was not epilepsy, after a few healers examined me and had an intense discussion they all came to the conclusion that my mana pool had somehow damaged my soul, causing incredible pain when stretched any further. This was confusing for me since my mana pool was hardly bigger then a fist, and if the ideal would be to have it fill the image of my body, leaving only a thin layer to show my form then I had a long, long way to go. When asking for a cure all they could do was talk some bullshit about praying to their gods for guidance. So for now I had a tiny mana pool. Mrs. Gray was quite distraught at this but it didn¡¯t really matter to me. After all I could still use the spells I¡¯d been thought without hindrance. The expanding of my mana pool was only so that I could keep casting spells without having to refill my mana every few minutes, thereby improving the amount of time I could spend training on the different usages of the spells.
Magic really was rather amazing though. According to Mrs. Grays lectures low level spells were fundamentally different from higher level spells. The reason was because of their complexity, the bigger the spell the more rules it has to follow. Meanwhile a low level spell was a lot more flexible in the way it could be used. Take for example a classic [Ice Lance] spell. While it is powerful and has great piercing capabilities. That is all it can really do. Meanwhile a low level spell like [Summon Ice], which is used for novice mages to train their control, can take any form while being easily manipulated. The only downside is that should you try to replicate the [Ice Lance] not only would you end up with a worse result; it would also take much longer. But the advantage lies in its adaptability. Being able to take any shape and to be able to give that shape instructions after the fact enables you to do an infinite amount of things.
It was all really fun. I mean really, I loved playing around with my magic and finding new ways of using it. In fact it took me two weeks after the first lesson to stop setting my hand on fire every two seconds, just to prove to myself that I could. You could imagine the reactions of those around me during that period¡
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Anyway the exercise I had been told to preform was the way of applying different spells to perform the same task. In the beginning it was all rather simple tasks. Move this ball 1 meter in any direction. Have the ball hit the ceiling. Heat up this water. Now freeze it. Things like that using each element in turn. Some things were impossible to do, like you try using sand to freeze a cup of water¡ But this way I found out the best way of doing things and the alternative ways of getting it done. The fact that I could use fire to freeze water to ice for example really surprised me. I could see some of these applications being used to confuse your enemy a great deal. Unfortunately she never had me use my magic against anyone so far. When I asked how to use magic in actual battle she didn¡¯t even react. Well, that¡¯s just how she is so I didn¡¯t take it to heart.
The exercise I was attempting this time was to split a rock in two. The goal was to find alternative ways of accomplishing the task using different elements. I had already finished it using water magic, ice magic, lightning magic and fire magic. So today I thought I would give wind magic a try. Honestly I didn¡¯t believe that I would get anywhere. Wind magic is one of the trickiest magic¡¯s to understand. In essence wind magic if the magic ability to manipulate gasses in the air. The problem is that unless you can actually differentiate among all the gasses in the air you can¡¯t manipulate just a single one. Hence why wind magic is mostly just a force pushing and pulling the air around to create certain effects. The higher versions of wind magic is never just pure wind but rather a mixed magic creating the effects of for example a sandstorm, using wind and sand magic, or a typhoon, using wind and water magic. Of course there is the tornado and the hurricane but even those are just a mixture of heated up and cooled down air. Pure wind magic is not capable of something that extravagant. Pure wind magic is only really used for pushing things around.
What Mrs. Gray had the mages teach me about wind magic was only two simple spells. [Push] and [Vacuum]. [Push] makes the air move to an area, while [Vacuum] have it leave an area. Simple right? That¡¯s what I thought until she explained that both are just different ways of achieving the same result.
I pick up a decorative stone, the size of my fist, from the garden and with a hand motion and a few words I cast [Push] on the rock in my other hand. As the spell goes off I control the strength of the wind by feeding it more or less mana and I control the size actually wind using additional hand motions and added magic words. At first I was only able to create a broad wind that rustled my hair but was without any real strength but as I fine-tuned the spell I was able to funnel the air in to a concentrated beam. It took quite a bit of experimentation but eventually I was able to reduce the size of that blowing beam to be half a centimeter wide. Unfortunately that still did nothing to the stone even when I tried to increase the output to the max. Reducing the winds affected area was not as easy as you might think for I could only feel the wind using my hand, or test its size on the ground. It was like trying to line up mirrored sunlight to as small a point as possible, eventually it gets so bright it¡¯s impossible to see. It doesn¡¯t help that the air can¡¯t be seen and the magic is imprecise. I eventually ran out of mana about 15 minutes later.
Damn it, do I have to make some sort of funnel using earth or ice to make this work? No I should try some more, let¡¯s see what I can to with [Vacuum] once I have refilled my mana.
At this point I hear a slight rustling of cloth and turn my head in a start. A woman dressed in a violet dress jumps a little at my sudden movement.
¡°Ah! M-my apologies, my lord.¡± She stutters out. I frown a little trying to place her but I can¡¯t imagine seeing her before.
¡°What is it?¡± I ask with more agitation in my voice then I really meant.
¡°E-ehm, I was told by the lady¡ that is, you see¡¡± She appeared to have some trouble, most likely because of our little game. Since that is the case I help her get on with it.
¡°Yes I can guess who you mean. Did you have a message from her?¡±
¡°Ah, yes. My lady regrets to inform you of being unable to accompany you this evening due to the preparations needed for tomorrow¡¯s event.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see why she would send anyone here for such a small matter. It¡¯s not as if we had arranged to meet here, we just stumbled upon each other here every once in a while since we both enjoy to spend time in this garden.¡±
Why do I keep sounding more and more like a snob when I talk to these kinds of people?
¡°My lady also wanted to express her wishes to see you in the morrow¡¯s tournament¡¡± She gives me a look as if she knows where I stand on this.
¡°I have no such intention.¡±
¡°She also hopes that you will change your intention of not participating. My lady believes that you would fare very well in the competition and has strong hopes that you will take¡ a high position when it is over.¡± The girl blushes when she speaks the last part, obviously thinking of romance rather than power.
I massage my forehead in frustration; this has been a frequent topic of hers ever since I mentioned that I had no intention of participating in the games. I believed that I had more than a few valid reasons not to.
¡°So tell her that I have no need of such a ¡®position¡¯. Something she very well knows by now. And as for how I would fare if I were to enter the tournament neither she nor I can say, after all I have no good idea as to the other heroes abilities and as such I can¡¯t judge if I would win or not. Although if I were to make a guess I would say that in this competition the others are far superior to me.¡±
After all I have a bit of a fear towards being the center of attention in such a huge crowd. I would probably just freeze up and stumble around making a fool out of myself. There is also that other thing¡
¡°Shall I tell my lady that you will not appear in the tournament then?¡± She says with a bit of a sour tone. She is obviously not happy and is glaring at me.
I roll my eyes and answer her.
¡°Yes, tell her that I have no intention of going to the tournament other then perhaps watching the mages competition as a spectator. Do tell her that I hope she will have a good time and not let my absence dull her enjoyment of the games.¡±
I felt rather proud with my snobby tone. I almost sounded like a full-fledged noble.
¡°Very well I shall confer to her your opinions on the matter.¡± With that she lifts her dress and gives a slight bow like a pro before heading back to the castle.
Well, no point in waiting for company then. I think to myself and open the basket to enjoy a nice meal.
Later I go meet up with Bryn.
¡°Hey, just in time.¡±
¡°Hey Bryn, you got my share right?¡±
¡°Of course, got it right here.¡± He throws a small leather bag with some coin over to me.
¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡±
¡°Oh you are going to love this, my friend. You remember Sam right?¡±
¡°He is not a man you can easily forget.¡±
¡°Right, well Sam and some friends of his are going to compete in the tournament and so he got in touch with Broker. You know, from the Den?¡± Broker was a gambler who would set up bets for anything as long as there was money and interest involved. ¡°Anyway they got this betting started for the tournament and they made some¡ arrangements, shall we say to better their odds. What I was thinking is that we make our own¡ arrangements. Right? You getting me here?¡±
¡°Sigh, not this again. You do remember what happened last time we dealt with Broker right? I don¡¯t want to go through that shit again.¡± 20 guards, 30 drunks, a bet going bad and an angry mage. It was known as ¡°The big Disaster¡± in the underworld.
¡°Oh come on you hardly have to do anything. It will be easy, just shut up and listen to me for a moment. First the deal Sam and his friends worked out was that they would all sign up together and whenever they come across each other, one of them would throw the fight. So it¡¯s a simple fix right? But what if they went further than that? What if they arranged it so that Sam would come out ahead every time, that way they could not only get the money for betting on Sam but they could also split the prize money that Sam would eventually win, making an even bigger score. Now I was thinking. What if we put you in there as well? What if you went in and you joined all the other competitions and lost, lowering your odds, only to then have Sam lose to you in the finals? That would rake in more gold then you could ever need!¡±
¡°Sounds unlikely. The fights are randomly selected so you never know who meets who. What will you do if we meet on the first or second round?¡±
¡°Ah don¡¯t worry about that, Broker got an inside man to set something up for that.¡±
¡°Hah! Haven¡¯t we heard that before?¡±
¡°Yes, yes, so the plan has some small problems in it. But we can work those out, right? Think about the gold my friend. An opportunity like this won¡¯t come around often, and this is the perfect time for it. With the heroes here everyone¡¯s attention will be on the sword fights and the mage battles. Only peasants will watch the brawls, the noble¡¯s hates watching men roll around in the dirt. So setting something up will be a walk in the park. And remember that the winners get really good prizes no matter the competition.¡±
¡°Okay, let¡¯s say you can fix the fights so that me and Sam, if we win, will meet at the finals. Then what? I can still lose on my first round and the plan will be fucked. I mean sure, if this was a real fight then I would be able to pull through somehow, gods know I have done it plenty of times already. But this is a competition; they have tons of bullshit rules...¡±
¡°Rules can be bent. Don¡¯t worry about the small stuff I will take care of it. All I need is some capital and we are good to go¡¡±
¡°Oh so that is what this is about? You want to take my money away again? Fuck you, use your own damn money.¡±
¡°Not at all! Seriously do you think so little of me? I was going to suggest that we pool our money together and use it to bet on you in the tournament. Only safe bets, of course. That way we can gain maximum profits.¡±
True, we could make a lot of gold, and I will need gold in the future I bet. And if we only bet on fixed fights then there are little risks involved¡
I stop myself realizing that I am getting to in to this. I made my decision almost a month ago and now a little bit of gold is changing my mind?
¡°Forget it, I¡¯m not competing anyway. It¡¯s a waste of time.¡±
¡°What the hell are you on about? Don¡¯t back down like this now. It¡¯s just a few days of mock fighting and a big sack of gold for each of us.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just it Bryn. You know how my body works. A few days of mock fighting might mess it all up, especially if I have to hold back and loose on purpose. What if this month of hard work is all destroyed just because of a few gold coins. I don¡¯t want to take that risk.¡±
What I was talking about was something I had learned soon after meeting Bryn. At the time I had been doing my own training, trying to teach myself how to fight. I had been shadowboxing like an action star would. They would actively show the windup and then linger after a move was finished. This was the very reason why my fight with Sam had gone on for so long. Sam had been able to clearly see everything I was doing because I prepared myself before every move. Essentially I had taught my body how to show the opponent what I intend to do. You can imagine how bad that is in a real fight. It took us three weeks of intense fighting to get rid of those bad habits and now I actively had to think about everything I learned so that I would avoid making the same mistake again. A high kick might look cool but unless you know when to use it and have trained to do so at that time, a high kick can get you killed. Finding out just how harmful my misinterpretations of a real fight were, hurt. And I don¡¯t mean mentally.
¡°You don¡¯t want to fight because it might harm your progression, is that it? Fine, then how about if you don¡¯t have to hold back. What if we talk to Sam and his buddies and we just have them throw the matches to you and you can just beat them up. We would probably have to pay them a bit extra on the side but overall it should be fine. As for the other matches¡ How about this: you can fight the first match in each competition at full strength. No holding back, no giving up. After the first match you simply give up on the others due to injury or some other excuse. With only 1 win your odds will still be very low and when we come to the brawl we will be able to get some good cash. As for the brawl matches we will set it up so that your opponent is either weaker then you, and we might be able to make them surrender or they will throw the match, making it look like it was their mistake that made you win. Most of the times you will look like you win for other reasons rather than your actual strength. Sure we won¡¯t have full control but if push comes to shove we can just block the view of the judges so you can go all out.¡±
¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t know Bryn¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s a yes! Okay let¡¯s go meet with Broker and work out the details. We have until tomorrow afternoon to prepare so we better hurry up.¡±
(A/N: I might as well mention that I am looking for PR''s so if there is anyone interested I could really use the help. :)
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