《The Land’s End》


 Chapter 1 | The Door

    A teenage looking boy sat on the blue swing outside a fairly-new blue house with a big smile on his face, cold wind breezes over him and along comes a scent of some delicious food. The boy had hair as white as the moon, tied up like a ponytail, and had eyes boiling red like blood. Though he was young, he had strength as though he had been training since he started crawling.


    ¡°Kiyu dear! It¡¯s time for your breakfast!¡± A female voice can be heard from inside the house.


    ¡°Coming mom!!¡± Kiyu said in excitement for the breakfast that his mom made, hopping off the swings so quickly in hopes to get to the kitchen that was too far away from the swingset but he had something at stake¡ªhis food. He ran as fast as he could to get there before his gluttonous dad gobbles all the food up. In the nick of time, he made it to the table just before his dad


    Kiyu shot a smirk at his father. ¡°I thought strong hunters were supposed to be faster, huh dad?¡±


    His mother chuckled a bit at the comment but his dad looked joyed about the comment instead of angry.


    He had always enjoyed his time with his parents, they always were positive, funny, and even dumb at sometimes. When he was a kid, boiling hot water was about to fall on him and ZOOM his dad moved him away in such a fast manner. His mom would always cook for him and read out bedtime stories when he was little.


    ¡°Hahaha, I was just going easy on you.. unless you want me to try..¡± He smiled like how a devil would while offering a soul contract to you and with the green draconic aura emanating from his father¡¯s body.


    ¡°Go easy on the kid, Draco.¡± His mom hits his dad in the head with such force even a boulder would break. Draco agreed and ate his food whilst being stared down by his wife.


    Kiyu laughed at him and began to chow down on the delicious crisp sizzling red sausage and runny eggs. Perhaps it¡¯s his favorite meal even after all these years and even his stomach growling like a bear could tell.


    He had thoughts while gobbling the food, could I ever become a hunter like dad? When will I get chosen for the trial? But all those thoughts are gone once he hears a voice call out to him.


    ¡°So son, did you ever get chosen for the trial yet?¡± Draco asked with a mouth full of food.


    Kiyu¡¯s shoulders slumped and a frown could be seen on his face. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t been chosen yet..¡± Kiyu murmured, his voice sounding disappointed.


    He had read in a book that trials have a chance of occurring when you¡¯re above the age of 10. If you¡¯re chosen, when you sleep your soul would be transported into the trials and build how you a body that is like yours in the real world but even though your physical body isn¡¯t in the trials, you can still feel everything as it was real. Time also moves much faster in the trials than in the real world but how much time you spent in there won¡¯t affect your age in the physical world.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The trials environment, challenges, and difficulty determine your power(s) you¡¯ll get but in some cases like the world renowned 10 Star Hunter ¡°Munin The Lazy¡±, he was given an easy trial but got extraordinary powers from it. Kiyu had been training since he was 7 just in case he needed it to complete the trials since he was scared to fail¡ªbecause if he did, the trials wouldn¡¯t accept anyone who does fail again and will lose their opportunity to change.


    His dad told him about his own time in the trials when his task was caring for a dragon, protecting it from weak monsters, then having to slay it when it was full grown. Draco said it was a hard thing to do but he had to or else he¡¯ll just be stuck in the trials forever caring for that dragon.


    ¡°Cheer up Kiyu! You¡¯ll be chosen eventually and after all, it¡¯s your 14th birthday tomorrow so maybe you¡¯ll get extra luck to be strong like your pops!¡± Draco said with enthusiasm while flexing his bicep.


    ¡°Not strong enough to do your own laundry!¡± Kiyu¡¯s mom shouts across the room, picking up a piece of clothing in the laundry room right next to the kitchen and throwing it right onto Draco¡¯s face. Draco takes a whiff and then seems fine but Kiyu takes a step back because without even using his nose, that shirt looks like it¡¯s been dragged through all the sewers in the world.


    ¡°Dad.. what is that..? And why is it so.. PUTRID?¡± Kiyu pinched his nose, slowly backing off into the distance with a disgusted expression like if you smelled rotten eggs and the stench was tenfold.


    His mom rolls her eyes ¡°If you think that¡¯s bad, you should see the rest of his ¡®lucky clothes¡¯.¡± Then she points towards a room right across the laundry, it had a deadly green gas exiting from the top. Kiyu shook his head faster than he had ever did in his entire life.


    ¡°Isabell, It¡¯s my lucky clothes..? I don¡¯t smell anything wrong with them?¡± Draco grabbed the shirt and sniffed it a few times and seemed fine with it. Kiyu is weirded how he couldn¡¯t smell nor see how dirty, smelly, and vile it was.


    He then wondered a question, How did he get that shirt so dirty? It¡¯s not like any monsters live around us.. and now that I think about it, it does seem strange that there¡¯s always nothing attacking us. I should ask dad and hopefully he won¡¯t brush it off this time.


    Kiyu walked back to his dad, still with his nose pinched. ¡°Dad, how come we never get attacked by monsters?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s about time you learn. Your mother is a very skilled barrier user, maybe even blocking out harbinger classed monsters. For the calamity classes, your pops has it under control.¡± His dad explained to him but he was confused about what these classes meant.


    Draco saw his confused expression he made. ¡°Son, you did read the monster guide I told you to read a year ago, did you not?¡±


    Kiyu looked as guilty as ever. ¡°Well.. I forgot to read it..¡± Kiyu shrugged but he remembered that he had to read it but was too lazy to actually look into that small but bulky monster book compared to the small book of information explaining trials. Kiyu slipped the bulky monster book into his back pocket, saving it for later to actually read this time.


    ¡°You are one helpless kid you know?¡± Draco sighed and gathered his thoughts and brought Kiyu to the living room, Kiyu knew this meant one thing¡ªa long talk. This was definitely the thing he had dreaded because every time he took time to gather his thoughts, it felt like a century.


    Kiyu looked around for anything to get out of this conversation and saw his father¡¯s most prized possession, ¡°The Blade Of The Jade Dragon¡±.


    ¡°Are you strong enough to defeat calamities? And that sword of yours that you always treasure, is it the best sword ever!?!¡± Kiyu pointed directly to Draco¡¯s back waist where a sheathed katana is held to his pants. The katana had a guard that looked like a jade eastern dragon wrapping itself around it and so did the sheath too. Kiyu had never seen the blade itself as Draco never had to use it, his curiosity had grabbed ahold of him before and tried to unsheathe it while his dad was asleep but he would know and move him away.


    Kiyu was nervous but readied himself to finally sate his curiosity about the blade. ¡°Could I see the blade on the katana, please..?¡± He was sweating a bit because dad never showed it to anyone and he could be the first one to know about it.


    ¡°Sorry Kiyu, I only sheathe this blade for foes and they don¡¯t live to tell the tale. But I can tell you what it looks li-¡° Draco was interrupted by an abrupt loud knocking noise coming from the front door.


    He walked away from Kiyu and went towards the door, fairly close to the living room.


    Kiyu was struck with an aching headache, one that could win a contest if they ever had one but a voice spoke out to him.


    ¡°DON¡¯T OPEN THAT DOOR!¡±


    Kiyu wondered why but didn¡¯t hesitate to run up to his dad


    Draco opened the door.


    A person that didn¡¯t seem to be from this town lit up.


    ¡°Hello.. Draco.¡±

 Chapter 2 | Terror

    Kiyu¡¯s expression looked as if he had seen a ghost but it wasn¡¯t anything but a normal guy..? I think I might be going insane now.. I hear voices in my head Kiyu thought nothing more of it but more on who that unknown person was because they lived in a small town, they were only guarded by mediocre skilled knights but it was better than nothing.


    Not like there was anything to guard against, Kiyu was always curious about the outside but all the monsters he ever saw try to attack the town were just small weak monsters.


    This man had vantablack hair in a ponytail shape, a medium sized stature, a really fine looking suit, and the most noticeable thing.. the full black mask on his face. It was weird to Kiyu because there wasn¡¯t anything on the mask, it was just¡­ blank.


    Kiyu was just curious on who exactly this random man was and went up to ask Draco


    Kiyu walked up to the door ¡°So da..¡± A hard large object smacked his face, interrupting him and then a thud sound could be heard next to him. His head instinctively turned and what he saw was nothing like he had seen before.


    Kiyu¡¯s legs collapsed but he quickly regained his balance and leapt away ¡°AHH, IS THAT A HEAD?!?¡± He screamed so loudly even the world might have heard it.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t fooling me, monster.¡± Draco¡¯s blade finally unsheathed, the blade had a vibrant jade green on one side and pearl white on another. The green draconic energy that was emanating from Draco has also begun to emanate from the blade.


    The man¡¯s head twitched and flew right back onto the body with no blood in sight.


    ¡°How interesting.. blades that emit green draconic energy and that design.. HAHAHAHA!!! Seems like that stupid jade dragon died. What a pathetic primordial he was, always calm and collected. I hate people like that¡± The humanoid monster said with a playful tone.


    Draco was surprised and jumped back He survived that? And on top of that, his regeneration is unmatched..! I¡¯ll use a dissolving skill so he can¡¯t regenerate from that part once he gets caught by it.


    ¡°I did kill Hisui, The Jade Dragon, to which these blades were given to me at his defeat. Now, you¡¯ll also fall like your friend, by me, DRACO GALDSWELL!!!!¡± Draco dashed at a speed comparable to the wind as it breezes and was ready to unleash a devastating attack until he suddenly stopped.


    Draco looked down to see a fleshy sharp crimson tentacle looking object coming from the man, piercing right through his leg. He grunted but swiftly sliced the tentacle off and charged towards the man with a finishing attack ready.


    ¡°I GOT YOU NOW..!!!¡± Draco conjured a giant jade dragon following its sword movements and with its head at the tip of his blade, ready to devour anything in its way. The humanoid monster just stood there with no defense in mind, instead it ripped out its own arm and threw it over Draco¡¯s head and then it fell behind him.


    Draco noticed this but didn¡¯t think much of it since he though he would just regenerate his arm back. In one swift strike, the large conjured dragon dissolved the humanoid monster from the top to the bottom.


    He sighed in relief but he couldn¡¯t ignore the pain in his leg and especially how destroyed the house was. He looked at Kiyu and Isabell but they had a horrified and almost dead expression on their faces as they pointed behind him.


    He thought they pointed to him


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine¡± Draco grinned while patting the debris off of him.


    ¡°At least let me introduce myself¡± A voice comes from behind Draco. He turned around and saw the humanoid monster standing just fine and he patted off all the debris that fell. Draco leapt back instinctively as a giant crimson tentacle, the size of a pillar came from under the ground.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Isabell, go to the transporter outside of the gate now! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll survive so you guys should just leave for now. I¡¯ll find you guys if I make it out of here alive¡± Draco then readied himself again for the upcoming attacks. Isabell and Kiyu both shed tears.


    ¡°Please make it out alive, dear.¡± Isabell then took off to this ¡°transporter¡±.


    ¡°Dad, NOOO!!¡± Kiyu cried loudly and tried to resist against his mother taking him but his mom didn¡¯t loosen her grip on him. Many other people in town came from all the commotion but crimson flesh seemed to come out of the ground and form a big sphere around them


    ¡°Do you wish to talk now?¡± The humanoid monster sat on a flesh stool that was made by him. Draco didn¡¯t have much of a choice so he accepted, hoping to reason with the monster to leave.


    ¡°My name is Maot Von Equalia, you could say I¡¯m a primordial classed monster. I was tasked with killing that white haired kid. I¡¯ve been told by a deity, he¡¯ll be this land¡¯s end, the darkness that devours all, and I really do enjoy living so I¡¯ll have to get of him beforehand, simple as that.¡¯¡¯ Draco didn¡¯t listen to any words after that, how could my son end this world? He isn¡¯t this kind of person, so this MONSTER THINK HE CAN TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?


    Draco then kept using the same move he had previously used to kill Maot but he just kept instantly regenerating through the arms he throws. Draco then suddenly had a thought and stopped attacking.


    ¡°Hey Maot.¡± Draco¡¯s demeanor changing into a joyful state. Maros stopped moving and became curious on why he stopped attacking.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Maot still intrigued on why he stopped attacking after mentioning to kill his son.


    ¡°I know how your ability works.¡± Draco laughed in a playful manner. Maot¡¯s eyes lit up and began to grin.


    ¡°Your ability, regeneration is insanely fast indeed, instant even but I wondered.. how could you not regenerate the arm you just ripped out? You must be able to turn off your regeneration so you turn off your regeneration and turn it back on at the exact moment my dragon finishes dissolving you and leaving you to regenerate from the arm you threw. That must require a lot of precision, won¡¯t it? You¡¯ll die if I get your whole body and the other piece of you.¡±  Draco¡¯s excitement can be seen at on his face, a big grin formed because of this information he established.


    ¡°Well you¡¯re right about turning my regeneration off. You see, my flaw is that my regeneration only regenerates from the part of my body that is the biggest so I could¡¯ve been already dead if you decided to use attack that could wipe my whole body at once.¡± As Draco was listening to this information, a tentacle stabbed him from behind and it went through his left thigh.


    ¡°Let me show you my other abilities now..!¡± Maot yells as the tentacle that stabbed through Draco¡¯s thigh detonates and a powerful explosion erupted in Draco¡¯s body and his leg was gone. He ignores the pain and forms a green leg out of energy. Draco and Maot both charge at each other


    ¡°SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!!!!¡± They both scream excitedly, Draco having a blast trying to kill Maot and Maot having a blast finally finding someone this strong to battle him.


    1 HOUR LATER.


    Isabell finally makes it to the transporter, supposedly a stone platform with 4 pillars and a teleport incantation on the floor, but finds it all destroyed with fleshy bits still scattered all over the platform. She then runs into the dark forest near her, scattering through all the bushes and plants to find something.


    ¡°Mom.. is dad going to be okay?¡± Kiyu wiping the tears from his eyes.


    ¡®He¡¯ll be okay, he is a really strong hunter so don¡¯t even worry!¡± She finds a bundle of tall leaves and with all her might, rips it apart to find a large cannon.


    ¡°Alright this¡¯ll be scary Kiyu but I¡¯ll have my barrier magic protecting.. us..?¡± A sharp pain could be felt through her heart.


    Splat


    Splat


    Isabell looks down to her chest and sees a crimson red tentacle piercing right through her heart.


    ¡°Honey.. you.. lost..?¡± She used the last bit of her strength to put Kiyu in a barrier ball and into the cannon


    ¡°Mom!!! Please don¡¯t leave me!¡± Kiyu begged and cried but it was all ignored.


    ¡°Take care of yourself Kiyu and just know, we always love you.¡± Isabell then launched the cannon and cast another barrier all around the cannon and her. Maot walks up to the barrier and multiple hardened flesh spikes come out of Maot and they all attack at once and pierce through the barrier. He then goes for Isabell, multiple flesh spikes also pierced her¨Cshe falls limp.


    He then shoots a flesh shaped hand towards the barrier magic that barely stabilizing at a lightning speed. Kiyu¡¯s heartbeat raced and he screamed every second as the hand grabbed the ball and pulled itself towards Maot. The ball then stops getting pulled and falls along with the hand, it had been cut by something.


    ¡°This is all I could do.. Kiyu.¡± Draco¡¯s body filled with holes and barely grasping to life uses his last ounce of strength to free Kiyu.


    ¡°You¡¯re still alive? What a bummer, you didn¡¯t accept my request to become a monster after losing to me. You were powerful indeed, you just fought the wrong person.¡± Maot then turns his arm a large hardened crimson flesh box and lifted it over Draco.


    BOOM


    Maot¡¯s arm reverts to normal ¡°Time to find this boy.¡± He leapt great heights to search for the barrier ball but can¡¯t seem to find it.


    Kiyu had been falling until he hit a rock in on the ground in a location farther away from Maot and the ball breaks but softens his fall. My whole body hurts like hell. he thought to himself as he crawled but heard the same voice in his head again.


    ¡°Turn to your left and go straight.. I¡¯m there¡± The voice told him and Kiyu didn¡¯t have anything left so he went for it. He crawled and crawled, blood dripping from his leg until he finally arrived at a hole and pushes himself in.


    THUD


    Kiyu wailed in pain as he held his other leg. FUCK, MY FUCKING LEG BROKE.. SHIT.. IT HURTS, PLEASE STOP IT!


    ¡°Look up, boy¡± The voice rang in his head. He looked up and saw what looks to be a large black knight with seals placed on it and was chained up? It didn¡¯t look like a color though, it looked.. like darkness itself.


    ¡°Who are you..?¡±