Chapter 1, Life's Beginning
In the vast expanse of reality, darkness consumed all. There was no light, no life, and no signs of change. Under any normal circumstances, this pit of nothingness would've stayed the same for all of eternity. But suddenly an insurmountable amount of energy began surging throughout everything in existence. And with this energy, came life. I was always read a bedtime story about how life came to be. My mother and father weren't religious, so they truly believed this as if it were a history book. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe that such coincidences occurred in real life. My belief was that there had to be something to create another. Something can't be created from nothing, which is why I was convinced a godlike being did exist. Religion was an odd subject in my family's lineage. My mother and father were atheists, my mothers family were as well. But my fathers family were very devout to their god. I found their belief system to be closer to mine but I could never get along with the ideals of their so-called "7-Man God". This religion believed that the first seven people to ever come into existence faced a crisis in which they all died while creating today's world. In practice it was a noble thing, but I found no logic in it personally.
I always knew I was special, I could remember everything from the moment I was born. When I was conceived, my father was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he had been busy serving a noble family's adventure request. My mother had her maid beside her helping with the birth, she held me up and wrapped my body in a small blanket. "It's a girl m'lady. Congratulations," she said with a blank expression. My mother was still flustered from birth but managed to cradle me in her arms until I eventually lost myself in sleep. When I awoke, a man was standing over me with a grin stretching across his face. This man was my father, who'd rushed back home once he received word his wife was in labor. "What shall we name him dear," came a voice from my right. My mother had been laying next to me on a bed. "You knew the deal, if it was a girl, she would be Kalina, but since it's a boy, he shall be named, Kiliano."
As a baby, I would constantly get lost around my house, it wasn't big but I was small enough to fit into every nook and cranny, which made it very nerve wracking for my parents. My parents seemed to be in their late teens when I was born. My mother had long light-brown hair which would shine when exposed to the sun. She was on the shorter side, and seemed to be in very good physical condition. My fathers features were very interesting however. His hair was also long, reaching down just below his ribcage with a black coloring along with a dark red sheen. He was tall and slender, no, not slender but rather toned. He wasn't bulky but his muscle was toned, most likely through years of vigorous training. He fought as a professional adventurer for multiple noble families within the area. We ourselves weren't of nobility but he made large sums of money each time he left the house for weeks on end. Although his absences were long, his time at home was always spent with either me, or me and my mother. Our time was always amusing, he would read me stories, show me his vast collection of swords, and demonstrate hand signals which were meant to represent magic incantations. My mother was a bit different, she was caring, but her time with me was always spent cleaning or freshening me up. Her relationship with me seems to consist of chores only, the exception being whenever my father was around. Our maid was a tall blonde woman who constantly wore the same black and white outfit. She cleaned the house and tended to basic needs from dawn till dusk. Her attitude was always the same and she wore a blank expression constantly.
By the time I turned 1, I had already learned how to speak relatively fluently. My mother was Lenia Monfril, my father was Krill Monfril, and our maid was Ginelle Gyla. I was able to comprehend speech well enough but my actual speaking was still bad. However, while I was exploring the house one day, I caught sight of a strange black and red book in a closet which had been hidden behind a bed in my parents' room. At first glance, the cover was a textured black with a red gemstone embedded within the central front cover. I tried opening it but my father had swept me off the ground before I could. "Not so fast little guy, you can get to spellcasting once you grow up a little bit". He sat me right outside the room and closed the door. After that interaction my curiosity grew exponentially. I wanted very badly to see what that book held inside. The word spellcasting caught my attention too. Perhaps that book allowed its reader to learn some forms of magic. If so, I needed to get my hands on it asap. Unfortunately, when I came back there a few days later, the book was nowhere to be found.
As time went on, I turned two, and with that new age, my speaking began to improve. I could now piece together coherent sentences and even have short conversations. I always liked to talk to my father. He had charm to his character and a natural talent of charisma. Not only that, but his sword skills were revered and he would love to talk about his adventures. My interests lied with such topics so I would always humor him. "You know, when I was thirteen, my friends and I took on a dungeon! We spent nearly an entire week in that cave, but eventually I was able to vanquish the main boss alone." He loved bragging about his stories as a young adventurer. Although he still went on dungeon raids, his stories of his more childish days seemed to be filled with more enthusiasm. "Daddy, tell me more about you and mommy." Whenever I asked him something like that, he would always ramble on about the amazing magic my mother could conjure up without incantations. "I'm sorry daddy, but I don't understand. How does magic work?" I had finally asked him the question that layed in my mind for over a year now. "Well," he said. "Magic can be formed in two ways. You can either make certain hand signals which correlate to the magic you're producing, or you can chant an incantation which requires a magical item. However, both require you to channel mana throughout your body. Do you want to learn magic, my boy?" I absolutely did, and my face showed it, which is probably why he didn't wait for me to respond before stating, "Our lessons will start tomorrow morning then. We'll get up early so rest well." He said with a smile.
That next morning I was woken up by my fathers warm embrace. His face had a large smile stretching across his face, similar to the one he had when we met for the first time. We walked to the front yard. It was a large field with two trees accompanying the side of our house. A stone fence, roughly a meter and a half tall, stretched across the house, making up a large yard. My father threw me a small wooden sword about a meter long. "Alright, first let's start with the basics. If you're going to use magic you'll need to tone your body and mind first. Don't worry my boy, I'll teach you to become a world-class Magic Knight." He closed his eyes and made a warm smile, showing off his teeth. Something about his smile always made me feel safe. We started off with some basic sword strokes, swinging it ten times before a short five second break. Then we would repeat this over and over for a little bit over an hour. By the end of it, my arms felt weak and I could barely walk. "Don't worry son, it's always hard at the beginning, but I'm honestly surprised you held out this long. My first try at this only lasted half an hour before I threw up," he began laughing. My heart was still racing but his words gave me comfort. "Alright, take a few minute break and then I'll teach you how to use mana." "R-really?!" I said, turning to face him, wide-eyed. "We're only starting with the basics so don't get your hopes up. For now I'm only going to work on expanding your understanding and we'll maybe use a bit of actual magic." That was enough for me, I was happy enough that I got to learn anything at all. After about ten minutes, he came walking out holding a large grimoire. Its cover was brown with light blue ribbon covering its rims. "Alright, this here is a water mana grimoire. I'm going to demonstrate some basic magic, got it?" He opened up the book and set it to the first page. Holding the book with one arm, he stuck out his right with an opened palm. "With this chant I call forth the power bestowed to me by the power of all that is natural. Let mana seep through my body and into my hand. Flowing like a river," A moist, cold sensation grazed my body, "Water ball!" Water droplets formed around his hand and collected by the palm. It grew in size, eventually making up a water ball the size of his head. "Alright. This is a novice level water spell. As you can see, I used an incantation to form mana into water which has collected by my hand." His arm loosened up and he walked over to me, with the water ball hovering just over his hand. He swung his arm below his waist and the water ball dissipated. "Alright, try saying the same chant and you should feel a tingle run throughout your body. Convert all your attention to your palm and the mana should naturally form there." I stood up as he handed me the grimoire. Sticking an arm out, I began chanting, "With this chant I call forth the power of my flowing mana," I forgot the actual chant. "Seep like a river!" Although the chant was wrong, I still felt a tingle run throughout my body, as I began concentrating on my hand. A cold feeling spread through my fingertips and I could visualize the mana which had covered it. Water droplets formed around my hand but paused. I put more effort and focus into the spot right in front of my hand, and as doing so, the water began collecting in the very same spot. This feeling, the feeling of mana flowing out of my body. I felt a sense of strength flow into me. I began outputting more mana and the water droplet grew larger than my fathers head. After just a few seconds, it had grown nearly twice the size of my fathers previous example. "Alright son, take it easy I don't want you draining yourself dry now." His words broke my concentration slightly and I released the spell by relaxing. "Oh boy, that was pretty interes-" My vision blurred and I began falling. "Oop. Careful now" My father had caught me right before I passed out.
When I awoke, I was laying in my bed. "Uhh. Dad?" I stood up from my bed but suddenly had my vision blurred. My head began to shake and I immediately felt weak. "Wow there pal. Take it easy for a bit longer. You spent a bit too much mana creating that spell. You gotta remember not to overdo it. If you use too much mana it will leave you weak, like how you're feeling now. But I'm impressed. You managed to create a pretty large water ball on your first try. and to top it all off, you did it with a shortened incantation." My mother walked in, holding a cup of green liquid which she set by my bed. "So, you overdid it, did you? Don't worry I did the same thing when I was first learning. But drink this, it should subside your condition." She said with a smile. I picked up the drink and took a sip. It was cold and bitter but went down easily. I decided to chug it fast so its taste wouldn't bother me. I layed back down on the bed and took a few minutes before getting back up, and walking to the living room. My father was sitting on the couch, sharpening his sword while my mother and Ginelle were in the kitchen preparing food. "Sir Kiliano, we have prepared your supper. Please come sit."
Chapter 2, Upbringing
Six months went by since I started practicing with magic and the sword. I was three now, and my size had grown significantly. My mana had grown a decent bit and was now capable of forming a water ball the same size as me, without fainting from mana exhaustion. My daily routine consisted of training with the sword for two hours right after waking up, then taking an hour-long break before practicing spells for another two hours. I ate lunch, and moved onto practice with reading and writing for another two hours. After that, I usually spent my time reading through the novice level grimoires my father had given to me.
One day after practicing with the sword, my father had pulled me aside and told me to sit down with him in the living room. "Here you go sweaty." Mother handed the two of us a wooden plate of food while father began to speak, "I think today is a good day to tell you about the different tiers of magic and swordsmanship. As you know now, magic is classified into different difficulties, the same goes for sword skills. These levels go from Novice, to Advanced, then Knight, after that it goes to Veteran, Saint, Lord, and finally Overlord. Currently, you're still a novice. But with the progression you're making I'm sure an Advanced level spell wouldn't be too hard for you. With that being said, today I'm going to teach you a spell which is classified as Advanced tier." Admittedly I had gotten pretty excited. I was always interested in magic, but now I'm learning that I have a talent for it. "Finish up eating, and I'll meet you outside." Father had finished eating rather quickly and began towards the door. I took bigger bites and started eating more hastily. After finishing my plate, I walked outside the door. Father had been sitting on a bench in the front porch. When I walked outside, he sat up and grabbed a white and green grimoire. "Come with me," He began walking towards the gate which led outside the house's gate. I began to follow shortly behind him. Now that I think about it, I had never left the gates which surrounded the house, so this was uncharted territory for me. As we walked past the gate, I took a look beyond my house. We lived in a small town which stretched far. Most of the land in between each residency was used as farmland. The landscape was mostly flat, with lush, green grass blowing in the wind. The sun shined down on the orange plants which covered farmland. It was warm, yet the wind was still prominent. Father and I continued walking for some time until he stopped in the middle of an open field. "Alright, I'm going to demonstrate to you this spell. I'll only do it once, so make sure to pay attention and memorize the entire incantation." He opened the grimoire and set it a few pages beyond its first. He stuck his arm up in the air and began a chant, "With these words I call upon the power of nature. Set forth my offering and grant me power enough to blow all away. Tornado!" As he said those last words, a gust of wind picked up from all around him. Just beyond his hand, a swirl of wind formed, creating a small tornado. "Alright kiddo, when this happens you must stay calm!" The wind around us was fast and rough. He dropped his arm so it was now facing the open field, rather than the sky. "Now, in order to properly release this spell, you must put less focus on the mana and more focus on expelling it. Your sixth sense for mana will help you with this, so all you need to do is visualize the release of mana and everything should work out!" He then shot out the tornado from his hand which blew away large amounts of grass and dirt. After a few seconds his mana dissipated, and so did the tornado. Okay, now it was my turn. I took a few steps forward as father handed me the grimoire. "Hmm… okay I got it now! With these words I call upon the power of nature. Set forth my offering and grant me power enough to blow, all away. Tornado!" I poured all my mana into my hand and began imagining it swirling around into a spiral. The wind began to pick up on cue. My body felt a large gust of cold wind concentrate just beyond my hand as a small tornado was picking up speed. "Good, good! Now stay calm and try to shoot it out!" I could barely hear my fathers words over all the wind covering my body. The tornado began growing in size and strength. "W-wow now! Stay calm and don't use any more mana!" "Huh!? Gyah!" My body was frozen. I was trying to release the tornado but the more I tried the more mana ended up getting fed into it. "Stay calm son!" My father was pushing his way past the wind, trying to get to me. He reached out his arm, and set it onto my shoulder. His hand brought heat to my shoulder and snapped me out of my panic. I furrowed my eyebrows and began focusing more on the release of mana rather than the output. And surely enough, I was able to send out the tornado, which slowly lessened in size, until completely losing all form. "Phew! You made me a bit nervous there kid. But all's well that ends well, I guess." His face was covered in a giant grin, his eyes were shining with delight as he looked at me. "Congratulations, you are now an Advanced level mage." He picked me up and threw me above him, grabbing me before I fell back down. "Yippee! My son is a genius!" We had both begun laughing.
By the time we made it back home, the sun was nearing its departure over the horizon. "Take a bath and rest well. You've done good Kil." He had given me the nickname Kil as a way to shorten my actual name. I kind of like it to be honest. It sort of reminded me of a hero. Heh, yeah, Legendary Hero, Kil. That had a nice ring to it. I took a long bath and ate dinner, before going to bed. The next day my parents told me I was no longer required to practice reading and writing. My skills for arithmetic have always been exceptional. But now, my skills were on par with someone triple my age.
Not long after I reached the rank of Advanced, my age had also grown. It seemed to have taken no time at all until I was four years old. My daily routine consisted of a lot more training, instead of studying. My mana pool grew exponentially, I could now shoot water balls the size of my father with relative ease, and was capable of forming a stable tornado on command. My incantations were strong but I possessed the ability to conjure spells without any incantations or hand signs. "Hrm… Hoof!" Thud! My father was brining inside a giant box, which seemed to be heavy. He set it down and began unwrapping its contents. Inside of it was a shiny silver table. Its rim was made of silver, and its core was reflective. "We finally got a nice one ey?" Said my mother from the living room. My father lifted it up and began walking towards the bathroom, "Yeah, it looks nice but the thing was on sale so I got it for cheap." He walked inside the bathroom, I followed behind him out of curiosity. "Father? Why are you bringing the table into the bathroom?" "Haha! No you're mistaken Kil. This is a mirror. We use it to look at our reflection and help freshen up our appearance." He sat it down, just behind the sink. "Uh… father, can you help me?" I raised my arms up asking to be lifted onto the bathroom countertop. He smiled and helped me up. "Wow! Is this my reflection?!" For the first time, I could see myself. I had dark brown hair with a red sheen shining down. My hair lay just past my shoulders. My body was thin yet slightly chiseled. I had light brown eyes which almost seemed too big for my body. "Is this the first time you've seen yourself in a mirror? I'm surprised you haven't tried looking at yourself while taking a bath or something." He was right. I had never seen myself before, even when taking a bath. Usually, I was always preoccupied with cleaning myself, rather than checking out my reflection.
The months continued to pass by, and so did my magic. I could use Advanced tier fire spells with little difficulty, and Advanced tier wind spells without an incantation. My skills with the sword had been steadily improving as well. Father had taught me novice level sword techniques and began giving me Advanced tier swordsmanship lessons. By the time I turned five, life inside the house began to seem a bit cramped. Mother caught wind of this and permitted me to leave the house whenever I had down time.
Chapter 3, Nazeem
I left the house on a bright warm day of summer. The sun was scorching hot. With little wind blowing, the atmosphere was dry. I hadn't made many friends but the fun of exploration was good enough for me. I headed south to the forest which oftentimes had low tier ents that made for fun target practice. About half way there, I began hearing ominous laughter just beyond the hill to my right. Curiosity took over, and I walked over the peak of the hill catching sight of a group of boys who were playing a game. At first glance they seemed to just be playing harmlessly, but upon closer look it was apparent that they were ganging up on another boy. "Hahaha! You think you're all high and mighty don't ya!" The boys were throwing insults at him while shoving him to the ground. The boy seemed scared and tried to back away but he was already surrounded once again. "Oi! Cut it out will ya!" I ran down the hill, clenching my fists. The boys' postures stiffened. The biggest one stepped up and said, "Mind your business. You're just a baby so don't act like a hero." That word… hero. It made my heart race with joy. Perhaps if I saved this kid, he'd think me a hero. "Alright then!" I said, "Step away from that boy and scramble back to whichever cave you came out of!" They didn't seem to like that very much. The boy closest to me took a step forward and swung at my face. Swordplay had made my senses heightened so this boy's punch wasn't too much trouble to dodge. I weaved to his left and threw a right hook to his temple. As the boy fell, his compatriots had already started coming at me. I took a step back, using my right leg as support. Sticking out my hand and focusing mana into it. I released a water ball about twice the size of myself. It was big enough to catch each other boy, pushing them back, crashing into the ground and getting swept away down the hill. "Gwaah!" "You littl-!" They were swept out of sight. I walked toward the boy who had been getting bullied and stuck out my hand. He looked up at me with large, blue eyes. He had short, black hair which seemed a bit dirty. I guess those bullies had been pelting him with dirt and mud. He stood up and said, "T-thank you. I'm sorry about the commotion, I didn't mean to cause you any trouble." His eyes were gazing across the ground with shame. "Don't worry about it. Those guys are weak so it really wasn't a problem for me. Oh by the way, my names' Kiliano, it's nice to meet ya." I stuck out my hand as a gesture of friendship, "Uh, yeah it's nice to meet you. My name's Nazeem." He said, accepting my gesture with a smile. "Hey, I'm headed to the forest for some magic practice, wanna come with me?" His head tilted to the side. "That sounds fun but, I don't know magic." He said with a small frown. "Don't worry about it. I'm able to teach you some novice level spells with my grimoire that I brought." I had left my water grimoire on the side of the main path to the forest. We walked back to the main path, I picked up my grimoire, and we headed to the forest.
Nazeem's talent for magic was clear. He was immediately able to understand the flow of mana and create a water ball larger than his own head. I wanted to continue teaching him but I know his talents would be wasted on me. After a few more weeks of practice I asked father if he could teach the two of us. "Well kiddo, if Nazeem really does want a qualified teacher then I should hire someone. I know a fair bit about magic but don't forget, I'm a swordsman." Just like that, we had hired a magic tutor for me and Nazeem. Only a few days after the suggestion, we heard a knock on the door. Nazeem and I were in the living room playing when father opened the door and let inside a young man. "Hello there! Are these two my new pupils?" The man seemed just a bit older than my father. His hair was a deep blue which stretched down just past his midsection. He wore a beige robe which covered his entire body, down to his ankles. He held a staff made of a solid black material which split in two at its tip. Father chimed in, "Yup! This here's Kiliano," Pointing to me, "and this one's Nazeem. Kiliano is currently in the Advanced tier and Nazeem is pretty close. Do as you please with 'em." Father held a smile and left the house. "Okay then, it's nice to meet the two of you. My name is Fuijin. I, am a Lord tier mage. I suggest we get started right away, yes?" I looked at Nazeem and we nodded in sync. Nazeem spoke up, "Yeah, if that's what you suggest then we'll get started now." The three of us headed outside. We continued walking until reaching a clearing where we won't be disturbing anyone. "Okay now, I trust that both of you know how to conjure a water ball? If so, demonstrate your abilities please." Nazeem started first. He took a few steps forward and let out his arm. "Uhh. With this offering I ask you to… uhh grant me strength and set forth a flowing water ball." He had absolutely no idea what the incantation was. Even so, mana began forming by his arm and a water ball was formed. "Huh!? Wow! You can manage that spell even though your chant was completely off? That's some impressive work there." Next it was my turn. I stood, legs wide apart and held out my arm. I spoke no words, but instead channeled mana to my hand, visualizing water at my fingertips. "Water ball!" I shouted. Mana concentrated, creating a gigantic water ball. I relaxed my hand and the mana dissipated on cue. "Whaaaaat!? H-how are you children able to conjure spells without an incantation!? That shouldn't be possible at your age." I walked up to Fuijin with a slight grin, "What do ya mean?" "Well… magic is used with either incantations or hand signs. But high ranked mages are sometimes able to conjure spells with their sixth sense alone. Although, it's extremely rare." He began mumbling to himself. I overheard a little bit, but one word caught my attention. I heard the word god pop up. To me, this word was intriguing. Perhaps he was comparing us to godlike powers? Or maybe we had the potential to rival the gods themselves? Whatever the case, it was clear our magic talent was especially exceptional, even for prodigies.
We continued practicing with Fuijin for half a year before our next test. At this point, Nazeem was able to use Advanced tier magic with ease. I had nearly mastered Advanced magic and my mana pool was nearly twice the size it was prior to meeting Master Fuijin.
The weather outside hadn't changed in nearly seven months. If anything, it had gotten hotter. Crops around the town hadn't been doing well. On Fuijin's spare time, he would often use water magic to help grow crops but it wasn't enough to compensate for the entire climates harsh conditions.
Nazeem and I finally had our next test. We met up after lunch and followed Fuijin to the same clearing we always went to. "Alright. Today is a very special day. Once you begin to learn Knight tier magic, everything begins to ramp up. These spells are no joke so don't go around sending Knight tier spells at anyone that looks at you the wrong way." I immediately glanced over at Nazeem to see what his reaction would be. He was smiling wide, with his large blue eyes gleaming with delight. "So what spell are you going to teach us?" He said. "Today you will both learn the Knight tier magic spell, Typhoon. This spell requires you to use water magic while maintaining a tornado spell at the same time. Once you conjure up both spells, try to match the tornado's whirl speed with your water magic and combine the two. Here, let me show you." He took a few large steps forward and raised his right arm to the sky. "With this offering of mana, I call forth the power of nature. Blow away my targets with the power of wind and water, bless me with power. Typhoon!" A large gust of wind began picking up. The atmosphere around me felt cold and moist. Huge amounts of mana began collecting by Fuijin's hand. First a tornado was formed, no larger than my own. But right after, water began picking up around the tornado's swirl. They began to combine, creating a tornado of water. I could barely keep my eyes open, as he lowered his arm, pointing it to a clear field. The typhoon was released and sent across the field with surprising speed. After it began gathering large amounts of grass and dirt Fuijin closed his hand and the typhoon dissipated immediately. "Once you send out the spell, make sure to relax your sixth sense and close your hand simultaneously. After that, it should stop the spell completely." Nazeem, you first. "Uh alright." He raised his arm in the air and began chanting, "With this offering of mana, I call forth the power of nature. Blow away my targets with the power of wind and water. Bless me with power! Typhoon!" He released a perfect tornado which was quickly combined with water surrounding it. He lowered his arm, shot out the typhoon and released it shortly after. "Wow, good job. I knew you'd do it but I didn't think you'd manage this easily. Alright Kiliano. It's your turn." I stepped up and began the chant. "With this offering of mana, I call forth the power of nature! Blow away my targets with the power of wind and water, bless me with power! Typhoo-!" Before I could finish the incantation a huge amount of mana came pouring out of my body. Water and wind flew everywhere, covering the atmosphere with thick winds and rain. This force was easily twice the intensity of Fuijin's example. My arm remained above my head, still gathering mana. The tornado ended up growing around my body rather than the palm of my hand. I was submerged in the eye of the storm and water had begun surrounding me. My vision was foggy and my heart began racing. "Uh oh! Seems you got a bit carried away." I heard Master Fuijin's words from behind me. "Master! Help me please!" I screamed out. "Don't worry Kiliano, you're fine! Absolute cancel!" In an instant, all the mana I had been generating dissipated. The atmosphere cleared up too. "Kil, are you okay?" Nazeem ran over to me with worry in his eyes. "Y-yeah I'm alright, how about you?" Nazeem smiled, "Luckily, I wasn't in range, so no harm was done to me or Master Fuijin." Fuijin walked up to me, "Oh boy. That was intense, wasn't it? Your mana control is kinda crappy but you were able to form the spell so I'll allow you to pass. Nazeem, Kiliano, congratulations, you are both Knight tier mages!"
Chapter 4, The Kingdom of Zuri'el
"Kil, Kil! Wake up!" My eyes began opening slowly, my vision still blurry. "We gotta go Kil, it isn't safe!" "W-what the. Nazeem, is that you?" "Yeah it's me, come on! We gotta go!" I got out of bed, vision still blurry. "Okay, okay. Let me freshen up a bit first." "What!? No way! It's an emergency!" My eyes began adjusting and I took a glance outside my window. Smoke was covering the sky. The atmosphere was much drier than yesterday. "W-what's going on!?" Nazeem was waiting by the door, "A fire has started in the village. It destroyed all our crops and has no sign of letting up. Fuijin is trying to slow the spread but one person isn't enough. Krill, Genia and Ginelle are downstairs packing. We don't have much time so hurry up!" I get it now. It makes sense that a fire has started since the climate has been heating up recently. I got up and began grabbing my most valuable items. A voice from the first floor echoed up to my room, "Make haste Kil! We're leaving now, so get over here asap!" I slipped on my shoes and ran downstairs, carrying a giant sack filled with grimoires and my sword. Nazeem's parents and my family hopped on a nearby carriage and we headed north. Looking back, the entire town was consumed in flames, spreading to our house and even reaching parts of the forest. My life began flashing before me. The time I spent practicing swordplay with father, my mischievous behavior crawling around every nook and cranny, and the many hours I spent studying through every grimoire I could get my hands on. A wave of sadness hit me like a horse, but I did not cry. "It's okay kid. Nobody's dead, so let's take this as a win." Father was stroking my head with his hand, trying to comfort me.
The carriage was a bit cramped but I had enough space to settle in and rest. We spent a few days on the road until finally making it to a city. It was the first time I saw anything like this. The city had gigantic walls which stretched across its entire perimeter. The inner city was filled with marketplaces and vendors. Eventually we made it to a residential area and stopped. Father got off and headed inside the largest building on the block. "Alright everyone, let's get down and wait for Krill." Everyone got off the carriage and stepped to the side of the road. After a few minutes, father came back out. "I set up three rooms for us. It'll only last us a week so we'll have to start making some sort of income if we want to keep a roof over our mouths. Now then, Nazeem's parents can stay in one room, Kil Nazeem and Ginelle in another, and then me and Genia in the last.
The next day, Nazeem and I went off to explore the marketplace. We went around asking for samples to every vendor we saw that was selling yummy looking food. After a few tries, people started to catch on and we were shooed off. By noon, we came back to the hotel and met up with father. Shortly after our arrival, everyone else began walking into the lobby. Once everyone was seated my father stood up to make an announcement, "Alright everyone. We've had a decent amount of time to find some jobs. Let's hear it." Nazeem's parents stood up. His father spoke out, "We've found jobs working in retail. We'll make just enough to cover living expenses and have a bit extra." He sat back down, and mother stood up, "I was able to curry favor with some nobles and they allowed me and Ginelle to work for them. Our pay will be quite good so we can cover two rooms with a bit of extra." I was surprised that mother and Ginelle were able to make so much progress in just one day. Mother sat back down and father chimed back up, "Alright, sounds good. It seems I'll have to unretire as an adventurer. I'm a bit rusty and my income will be pretty inconsistent, but this should leave me with enough time to help Kil and Nazeem with their magic and swordsmanship." Nazeem and I began smiling at those words. I didn't want to stop practicing, but this situation was quite drastic so I was prepared to hold off on my progression. Hearing this made me very happy.
A few weeks passed since we first made it to the city. I walked out of the hotel alone. The air outside was still hot and dry. Nazeem had stayed inside the room for some extra sleep, but I was eager to explore. Although we had been living here for some time, I had only explored half of the entire city. Taking one step onto the road, my father grabbed me and pulled me onto the sidewalk. A group of men on horseback came rushing down the road right after. "Careful Kil. Make sure you pay attention before crossing a road." The men on horseback wore black fur cloaks with swords at their hips. An ominous aura began emanating from their trail. Was this residual mana? Could they be some high tier mages? "Dad. Who are those people?" "Those are the royal guard. Apparently, some news is coming in from the nation's capital." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What nation?" Father seemed to have an aloof expression but then his eyes lit up, "Oh right! I haven't told you anything about this country, have I." It wasn't a question. His face was filled with enthusiasm. Apparently he had neglected to tell me anything about the country I was living in. "Well I guess we should start with the city we're currently in. This is the kingdom of Zuri'el. A northern kingdom which resides quite close to our capital, the kingdom of Aspira. Our country is made up of 13 different kingdoms, which each hold a large amount of land. Our village was under the jurisdiction of Zuri'el, so we came to the capital. The Kingdom of Zuri'el is also the northernmost kingdom within our country. While the country is unnamed, it still possesses a government which watches over the kingdoms and determines whether or not their guidance is required." "Wait, hold on a second. I thought the capital was the kingdom of Aspira." "Yes, that's true. Aspira is the capital of the country, but this city is the capital of Zuri'el. Each kingdom has its own capital." I find no reason as to why the country itself needed a capital if 13 kingdoms were already occupying every inch of the country's borders. "Welp, now ya know. Have fun Kil." Father walked off. I looked back toward the road but the men on horseback had already gone off to the city's central tower.
Before I began walking off, Nazeem came outside. "Hey Kil, isn't it a bit early to go goofing off?" "Don't worryyy. I just wanted to check out the city's central area. Apparently it's where the upper nobility tend to mingle. I just wanted to check it out." Nazeem raised his eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "Yeah right. Knowing you, I doubt you'll just be checking it out." He giggled and began walking with me. We walked for nearly an hour before making it to a giant gate. It was made out of barred metal and remained slightly opened. It was bigger than most houses and almost the same size as the walls which surrounded the city's border. I walked up to it and slid inside, Nazeem did the same shortly after. One glance around our new surroundings made it obvious that this was the nice part of town. Each building was made with sturdy, well painted brick. The roads were lined with cobblestone and gave more space for people to walk. We began walking for no longer than five seconds before a man stepped out from an alleyway and stopped us. "What do you boys think you're doing? This neighborhood is reserved, only to people of noble status. Judging by your clothes," His eyes looked me up and down with disgust. "Neither of you are nobles. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave, please." I don't understand. Why does nobility matter here? It's just a road, isn't it? Well, no matter. If we aren't allowed here, then we'll leave. "Alright, fine. Let's go Nazeem." We turned back and left the neighborhood. "Ahh, great! Now I'm in a bad mood. That guy was a real prick." I was visibly mad, and my mood had soured. "Hey Kil. That place didn't seem too fun anyway. Let's go to the market and play around, yeah?" I looked at Nazeem, making eye contact with him. His attitude doesn't seem too crappy, and his face held a smile. "Heh, yeah thanks Nazeem. That sounds good." We headed off to the busy market.
After taking a few samples from vendors, Nazeem and I headed into an alleyway to eat our earnings. Nazeem scarfed down his fill in a few seconds, but before I could take a single bite we heard a bloodcurdling scream come from deeper within the alley. Our eyes widened to the noise and we stood up, stiff as a board. "Uhh… Kil. I know we should probably go, but I kinda want to check it out." His head turned to me slowly, "I wanna check it out, don't you?" I knew my sense of curiosity was big but I never imagined Nazeem was this daring. Any normal kid our age would pee themself if they experienced the same thing. "Nazeem… we gotta be some stupid kids. You know what my answer is." We began walking deeper into the alleyway. It got darker and darker, stretching on for what seemed to be eternity. A small light was lit at its end. Two figures were mingling at the alleyway's end. "S-stop it you fool!" A girl's voice echoed out. My instincts are telling me this girl was in trouble. I took out my hand and began channeling mana. "Hey, leave that girl alone! Water gun!" I shot out a spurt of water at a high speed, hitting the taller figure. "Gyaah!" a man's voice grunted out, as he fell to the ground. We made it to the end of the alleyway. A girl was standing up with disgust in her eyes as she stared at the man who'd be harassing her. "Damn weirdo! Next time you want something from me, maybe don't drag me into an alleyway." The girl walked into the light exposing her long, red hair. She was no older than me and Nazeem. I chimed in, "Are you okay? That guy seemed to be harassing you so I decided to step in." "Yeah, I'm just fine!" She turned her head to face away from us, teary-eyed. "Uhh… alright then." I turned around and began walking out of the alleyway. "W-wait!" I turned my head back to look at her. "My name's Lura. It's nice to meet you." "Oh uh, yeah it's nice to meet you. My name's Kiliano." "And my name's Nazeem!" "Well Kiliano, Nazeem, do ya wanna play?" I looked at Nazeem, he shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "Yeah sure. Me and Nazeem were just going around taking food samples. Wanna go with us?" Lura closed her eyes and began smirking. "Well," she said, "I've got a pretty good spot for snatching up free food, if ya wanna check it out." I was sceptical at first, but what could a girl her age do to us? "Yeah, sounds good. Lead the way Lura."
We began walking towards the city's central district. Nazeem's expression began to show a hint of hesitation. I'm admittedly a bit nervous about this too, in all honesty. After just a few minutes, we had made it back to the giant gate which blocked off the noble district. "H-hey Lura. I don't think we're allowed in there," Nazeem decided to speak up, "y'know we aren't nobles right?" Lura had already made it through the gate and peeked her head out to say, "Don't worryyy. You guys are with me." I turned to face Nazeem, he was already looking at me. "Whaddya say Kil? Are we going in?" I nodded my head and walked through the gate. Nazeem followed right behind me. Lura was waiting for us on the road, "Took you guys long enough. Here, follow me, this place has got the best market in the entire kingdom." She continued off, with us following close behind. After taking just a few steps inside, I caught the eye of the same man who'd shooed us off earlier today. He was inside a building, looking out onto the road. His expression seemed agitated as he opened his door and walked outside, "I thought I already told you boys! This section of the city is reserved for high nobility." He walked up to us and began pushing us towards the exit. "Hey stop it!" I shouted, "We're with a friend." The man's grip on me tightened noticeably. "Alright, that's enough!" Lura spoke up, "They're with me, so I suggest you let 'em go." The man's head twisted around, looking Lura in the eyes. His face went pale and he let go of us. "O-oh of course. My apologies, I had no idea these boys were friends of yours." Lura put her hands to her waist and put her chin up, looking at us with a satisfied grin. "Let's go boys! We've got food to snag." I'm surprised, I didn't think she was a noble, let alone a powerful one. We continued off down the street with Lura.
We walked a couple blocks before I began hearing noises of busy people. I could tell we were getting close to the market. "Alright here we go, this is it!" Lura stopped right before a curve which led to another road, "Don't get caught alright." What did she think we were gonna do, steal? My question had gotten an answer before too long. She was already down the marketplace trying to sneak her way under a food-stand. Nazeem didn't hesitate before following after her. I took a good look around, the marketplace was busy, but its contents were of very high quality. Dried fish was being sold, ripened fresh fruit were dangling from street vendors' stands, and the actual market was nearly twice as big as the one I had been going to. "Hey Kil, you gonna come or what?" Nazeem was already up to no good, trying to pick off some fruit that was dangling loosely without getting caught. I quickly joined in, crawling into another vendor's shop, just a few houses down from Nazeem and Lura. We continued stealing food for hours, making our way down the street. By the time evening set in, we had collected two barrels full of food which we stored in an alleyway near the market's exit. "Alright, now for the big one," Lura Stretched out her back, looking as if she was preparing for battle, "I'm gonna need some help for this one 'kay?" "This entire time you and Nazeem have been working together, I can pitch in but you'll needa tell me what to do." Lura's face lit up, "Alrighty then, follow me!" Lura went off back down the road. Nazeem and I followed her for a few blocks until she stopped right in front of a fork in the road. We had originally come from the left side, "Alright, we're gonna go right." Lura began walking once again, Nazeem following shortly behind, with me trailing them from a bit further. The street began to curve upwards, which made it harder for us to walk uphill. "Luraaaa, how long til' we make it?" Nazeem's forehead had begun to form drops of sweat which rolled down his face. The heat made it difficult for us to continue on, but Lura continued marching forward at the same pace. Nazeem fell back and eventually made it to me, his head was getting red and he seemed out of breath. "Lura," I said, "Nazeem and I need a break. Let's take a quick rest, yeah?" "Oh c'mon, this is nothing compared to my training routine!" Lura said with an antagonizing voice. "I… I get that but…" Huff huff "I can't take much more of this." Nazeem fell on his back, facing the sky. "Pfft! Get up, pussy!" What was up with her? She hadn't seemed this hostile before. "A man should be strong. You gotta get up if you're a man!" Nazeem popped his head up, "I'm not a man! I'm six!" I grinned. "Well that shouldn't matter! You've gotta grow up at some point y'know." "J-... just give me a few seconds." Lura and I sat down on the side of the road, waiting for Nazeem to regain his stamina. "Alrighty!" Nazeem shot up onto his feet after a few minutes. "I'm ready, let's get goin'." Lura scoffed and continued walking up the road. Eventually, Lura stopped right outside a giant building. Its exterior was filled with people waiting to be let in. A line had been formed which stretched down half the block. Lura squeezed her way through the crowd and made it into the store. Nazeem and I did the same shortly after. "Stay close," She said, "The owner knows me so don't stray too far, got it?" The interior was filled with shelves of high quality food and fruits. The store was well-managed and everything was on shelves which lined up parallel to each other. Lura snuck over to the corner of the store and shoved a small shelf to its side, "Crawl through here." Nazeem and I squeezed through a crack. Inside the crack was a dark space which had just enough space for me to fit inside without touching the walls. "Keep going forward." Lura said from behind Nazeem. I continued onwards until I was met with an opening. "Here, squeeze through there and you'll be met with a giant load of free goodies!" The opening led to a different room. It was filled with shelves of food, lined up and categorized. "This here's their stock. Make haste, we can't get caught here." This triggered Nazeem to rush over to the meats and he began snatching up as much cooked beef as he could. I walked over to the fruits and to a look at their selection. After a few minutes I had gathered two bagfuls of fruits and meats which I planned to eat in my hotel room later. But before I could tell Lura I was finished, a door had opened and closed not far from my aisle. I ran over to a small section that was blocked off and peeked over its edge. The store owner had come back. Lura and Nazeem were quickly found and tried to escape but the owner was already blocking their way. He grabbed the two of them by their shirt collars and began dragging them back towards the door which he came out of. I was contemplating helping them but it was too risky to use magic in here. Right as the owner left the room I took the opportunity and made a break for it. I quickly slid through the crawlspace and made it back into the storefront. By the time I made it out, Nazeem and Lura were getting a stern scolding by the store owner, "You two should be ashamed, stealing at your age. I would expect as much from you, Princess but now you've brought along another one!? If I see you here again I will tell your mother!" My eyes widened, not at the scolding itself but of how he referred to Lura. "Princess!?" Nazeem's posture stiffened. "W-wait, you're the princess of Zuri'el?" Lura's eyes were closed and her expression seemed agitated, "Yeah what of it? You gonna get scared now that you know I'm royalty?" Now I get why the man at the gate went pale. She was the princess of this entire kingdom. And we made friends with her!? I scurried out of the store and made it back to them, after the shopkeeper walked back inside. "Hey Kiliano," Lura said, sounding a bit depressed, "I assume you heard all that, right?" "Yeah, but I don't get why you didn't tell us. And I also don't get why you came here to steal food. If you really are the princess, then you don't really need to do this, right?" Lura began walking back down the street, probably heading back towards our food storage. "W-wait Lura! What's wrong?" "DO you guys even know how crappy it is to be so spoiled? I understand that I'm lucky and all but I just wanna have fun, y'know? I probably sound pretty ungrateful for saying this but, being a princess sucks ass." I found some irony in those words. Mother would sometimes mumble to herself that she wished she was royalty. Probably because she was sick of doing chores. Nazeem walked faster in order to get closer to Lura, "I get it. You did this because you just wanted to have some fun, right? That makes sense. Being a part of the royal family has its upsides but I doubt having fun is one of them." He began chuckling. I couldn't tell from the back, but Lura's cheeks seemed to widen, which I can only assume means she was smiling. "Here! I can share these with you guys." I held up my two bags which were both filled with as much food as I could stuff in them. By the time we had finished most of our food, the sun was setting and we knew our parents wouldn't be happy if we stayed out for much longer. "Lura. We should probably head home." She nodded, "Alright, will you guys walk me home?" Nazeem pitched in, "Sure!" We began walking with Lura, and continued talking about random stuff like, our hopes for the future, and what we thought would happen to us if the weather got worse. Eventually, the three of us had made it to the city's central most tower. We stopped at a courtyard which led into a large building. I could only presume this was her residency, since she was royalty. "Alright guys, thanks for playing with me! We should do it again!" She ran over to the side of the courtyard where a man was waiting for her. Nazeem and I took one glance at him and knew he was dangerous. His aura was oozing malice. I could sense he had a great affinity for magic, but judging by the sword around his waist, he probably held an exceptionally high tier of swordsmanship. The man glanced at us and walked inside the residency with Lura. My body was nearly frozen. Just by glancing at us, he instilled a godly amount of fear in me. Nazeem was no better. I turned to look at him but he was sweating profusely. His face was pale and he was breathing heavily. After we took a few seconds to gather ourselves, Nazeem and I headed back to the hotel.
Chapter 5, The Swordsman Who Stood An Emperor
After a long night of contemplating my choices with Lura and Nazeem, I decided to go out and ask her for help with training. That swordsman was most likely her teacher, and I wanted to ask if we could join her during her training. "Nazeem… Nazeem wake up!" It was already morning but Nazeem was still in a deep sleep. "Master Kiliano, I suggest you let him rest. I've noticed that Nazeem requires a lot more sleep than someone like you." Ginelle had been staying in our room, and was able to pick up on our sleeping habits. I respected her judgement and layed back down in bed, waiting for Nazeem to wake up. But before Nazeem woke up, someone was knocking on our door. "Open up please, Kiliano. Someone is uh… waiting for you… and Nazeem." Ginelle woke up Nazeem while I got up to open the door. Father was looking down at me. His face was pale and his face seemed shocked, almost as if he'd seen a ghost. Or perhaps he was the ghost, since his face was so pale. Nazeem got out of bed with bags in his eyes and we headed downstairs and into the lobby. There waiting for us was Lura. "Hey guys! Sorry to come by so early." "Oh hey Lura! It's fine, I was already awake but Nazeem is a really deep sleeper." Nazeem didn't say anything, he just gave her a friendly wave and sat on the couch. I looked to Lura's right side and saw that a man was standing next to her. His face was covered in scars, he wore a sword on his waist and a robe which covered his entire body, from his neck down to his ankles. It was the same man Nazeem and I had seen in the royal's courtyard yesterday. This time, he wasn't secreting any aura or malice, instead he held no presence at all. Lura noticed me staring and said, "This is Kaiser. He's my master. I brought him here today to ask you guys a question. But first, do ya wanna walk with me?" Nazeem rubbed his eyes and nodded. The four of us walked outside, leaving father in the lobby. I glanced back at him to find his mouth wide open and his face completely awestruck.
Kaiser led us through the city while we laid a bit farther back. We walked back to the giant gate, into the noble district, and continued on until we made it to the royal courtyard. "Okay Kaiser, tell 'em." Lura's master straightened his back, "Ahem! Hello, as you already know, my name is Kaiser. Lura has spoken to her parents and was permitted to ask you… would you like to train under me?" I raised an eyebrow, "Well that depends. Are you strong?" "Hahaha! Yes, I am quite strong." "Well… how strong? My last master was a Lord tier mage. And you?" Now that I think about it. I hadn't seen Fuijin since we left the village. I knew he wasn't dead, but I'm surprised he hadn't stopped by to at least check up on us. "If you must know, I am currently the only Emperor tier swordsman in the kingdom of Zuri'el." Emperor? But that tier doesn't exist. "Wait, I'm confused. There is no Emperor tier. It only goes up to Overlord." Kaiser gave a smug grin, laying eyes on us that seeped pity. "I can see why you would have only learned that much. Considering you're still very young. But no, there are a few more tiers which rank higher than Overlord. My guess is your former master only told you up to the Overlord tier because they didn't want to discourage you." Why would that discourage us? It was probably because father didn't want to overwhelm us with the major differences in power. But with the existence of powers much greater than I originally thought possible, my hopes of becoming a legendary hero began to spark with greater intensity within my chest. "The real tier list goes, Novice, Advanced, Knight, Saint, Lord, Overlord, Emperor, God, and then either Angel or Demon, depending on your faction." Nazeem spoke up, "What's a faction?" "A faction is basically just your political viewpoint, or I guess just your ideology. Someone who is an Angel would be considered a hero, and usually goes around helping nations without involving themselves directly in wars. Demons are the opposite. They will happily get involved with wars, and often do so if their goals can be achieved by doing so. Also, the power gap between each tier after Overlord is massive. Someone who is an Emperor has to either kill or force submission of a God tier if they want to achieve that rank. But only one God exists in the world for every magic and sword type." Hmm, every type? That leaves four Sword Gods, and five Magic Gods, "So nine in total?" Kaiser shook his head, "Currently there are only eight. If the tier of God was reserved to only one person per typing, then there would be nine, but there is an individual who lives that is so powerful he holds the title of The Healing Sword God Of The East. He is the God of healing magic and the Eastern sword style. Among the Gods, he probably ranks at the top in terms of power." A shiver shot through my spine. So there were gods in this world? They weren't all-knowing beings but they were so strong the world bestowed them a divine title. I have to get stronger. One day, I am going to fight a God, and I'll win. But until then, master Kaiser is going to train Nazeem, Lura and I. A sword Emperor is no god, but even I can tell he possesses immense power. Nazeem turned to me, "If you ask me, this sounds like a good opportunity, Kil. What do you think?" I nodded my head, "Master Kaiser, please allow us to become your pupils." He smiled and nodded his head, "Alright then, we'll start immediately." W-what!? Right now? Kaiser pulled out three wooden swords and handed them to us.
Kaiser began teaching the three of us. His routine consisted mostly of sparring. Whenever I fought Nazeem he would usually run out of stamina before I did. But whenever Lura was faced against me, her power overwhelmed me almost immediately. Her swordsmanship wasn't powerful, but she was fast and was capable of putting on pressure. However, whenever Lura went up against Nazeem he would win. The pressure she put on him never seemed to affect him in any way. He was able to parry her swings and counter with swift sharp movements. It was like rock, paper, scissors. We clearly had our weaknesses and our strengths. Kaiser began working on my explosive force and growing my muscles. Nazeem began endurance training. And Lura practiced her overall skill with the sword. On top of all this, Kaiser would spar each of us at the end of the day. My first fight with him went exactly as I expected. The second we started, he began emanating a malicious aura. I completely froze and nearly peed myself. He walked up to me and tapped my head gently with his wooden sword. When Nazeem faced him, he was able to move but his legs were stiff. He was obviously scared. Kaiser walked up to him too, but this time he swung down his sword with a lot of force, its shockwave shot through the air and sent Nazeem backwards a few feet, landing on his butt. Lura went up last. Her stance was fierce and she didn't seem fazed by his aura. As soon as the fight started, she lunged at him. Her sword swung down but before it could hit Kaiser his body became a blur. He suddenly reappeared behind Lura, before her sword could even hit the ground. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pushed her to the ground, pinning her in place with his sword. "Alright. That's enough for today. Come back tomorrow, same time. Got it?" "Yessir!" "Yessir!" Nazeem and I answered at the same time.
We continued training with Lura and Kaiser for a few months. At first, father was disappointed that he wouldn't be training me anymore. But after telling him about master Kaiser, he seemed quite thrilled about the idea of learning from a sword Emperor. And as time went on, master Kaiser began teaching us more powerful swords skills. Our strength, speed, and overall skills were noticeably improving. By the time Nazeem and I were seven, the three of us had achieved the tier of Veteran in the North-Sword style.
After a hard day of training with kaiser, Lura, Nazeem and I had the amazing idea to leave the city and find a low level dungeon in the nearby provinces. We're now Veteran tier, which means we can probably take on an Advanced level dungeon without much trouble. "You know the dungeon won't pay well. But it'll be fun." Nazeem said. He was eager to leave the city. We had spent over a year now without leaving the walls. By the time we made it to the front gate which led out of the city, Lura turned to me, "Kil, your dad is an adventurer right? How long do you think this'll take?" "Hmm. Well, sometimes he would come back the same day. But other times he would be gone for a whole week, or even more!" Her face began to sweat, "O-oh okay. Well I doubt we'll take too long since the dungeon is pretty low level." Her face began to contort into a nervous look. We left the city and began our journey outside. The air was still dry. The temperature in the atmosphere had also increased. With the sun at its peak, I could feel the back of my neck burning. After just a few minutes, my body began to sweat. I looked over at Nazeem, his face was red and he had sweat marks under his armpits. Before I could turn to face Lura, my vision went blurry and I fell to one knee. "Nazeem are you alright?" Nazeem's voice called out, but my hearing began to fade away too. In just a few short seconds, my vision was nearly gone and I couldn't hear a thing other than my heart's pounding. I fell to the ground, and everything went black. "Kiliano… Kiliano! Kiliano!" My eyes shot open. An unfamiliar voice echoed in my head, calling out my name. I was laying on the ground face down. My body was still hot, but I could see and hear clearly. I looked up to find Nazeem kneeling down in front of me, "Kil, are you doing alright? Why'd you just collapse?" Lura was farther ahead, her body language told me she was frustrated. She had her back to us and her arms were crossed. "Uh… yeah I think I'm doing alright." I stood back up, my legs felt numb but they weren't weak. "I'm sorry. Dunno what that was all about but I'm doing fine now." I gave Nazeem a big smile and continued walking off. "Uh, Kil. The dungeon's this way." Nazeem pointed to the direction that Lura was in. My head felt fuzzy and my sense of direction was all out of whack, "Oh right… sorry." I began walking in the direction Lura was facing.
Nazeem, Lura and I continued walking for a few minutes before my head began to spin once again. I turned to Nazeem and said, "Dude… I don't think I'm doin too good. I'm gonna collapse again in a second." "Dang that's not good. I was about to say the same thing." I glanced at his face. He was red all over, his eyes were bloodshot and his knees were wobbling. Shit, this isn't good. But what about Lura? Is she okay? I turned to look at her. "Lura? I think we should turn back." "Who the hell are you!?" Lura's voice called out. She was talking to someone else. It was a hooded man in full body robes. His face wasn't visible but I could sense his aura. Was that murderous intent? Who is this guy? But before I could say anything, I heard a thud to my right. Nazeem's body fell to the ground. He was unconscious. Lura turned her body to face him, but as she did, the hooded man stuck his arm out and began a chant. "Give me power… Fireball!" I pushed off my feet and rushed at him full speed. I grabbed my sword and unsheathed it. "Lura move!" I said before swinging my blade down upon the man's arm. But before I could cut his arm off, he retracted it and countered my swing with a kick to the stomach. The ground below me began to zoom out, I could feel the air on my back as I flew across the sky. It took me a few seconds before landing back onto the ground. I heard my back crack as my body made a loud thud. My vision was blurry but when I tried to focus it went back to normal. By the time I collected myself, Lura had her sword out and was getting ready to face the hooded man. She swung her sword but was countered easily. The man kicked her stomach and sent her flying. "Lura!" Shit! This guy is no joke. He was strong enough to overpower me and Lura in just a few seconds. I have to stand up! I can't let the future queen die! Her life is worth a lot more than mine, even a kid like me should know that. I stood back up, readying my stance. "Hey you! Kill me first… pussy!" I gave the man a smug smile. "I-is that all you got? A grown man like you should've never picked up a sword if you're this bad at your age." The hooded man turned to me. He tightened the grip on his sword and rushed at me. He's fast, I can barely react to his movements. I could block his attacks but parrying would be impossible. It won't be long until he kills me! I continued blocking his attacks and tried to counter but his speed was too overwhelming. He grazed my torso, only cutting my shirt. My body hesitated for a second and he took advantage of that. He plunged his sword into my leg. "Gyaah!" He ripped the sword out and turned his back on me. A shock of pain shot through my leg all the way to my neck. "Geehah! Shit, shit shit shit!" He was going to kill Lura! I have to stand back up. There's no way I'm going to let him kill my friends! I plunged my sword into the ground, using it to give me the leverage I needed to stand back up. "C'mon now! I'm not finished! Get back here and finish what you started!" I readied myself. My leg was burning with pain and I could tell I won't be able to push off it. I'll need to kill him in one swing. Even if he also kills me! I have no other choice, all or nothing! The man lunged at me once again, his speed was incredible. I could barely see him by the time he was right in front of me. His arm was raised in the sky, holding his sword. Time felt frozen, like I was just waiting, hopelessly for him to lop my head off. His arm became a blur as it began to swing downwards. My eyes closed, leaving nothing but an empty void in my vision, as I waited for death. Clang! I suddenly felt another presence right in front of me. I opened my eyes to see master Kaiser clashing with the hooded man. "Kil, you've done well enough. Rest your leg now." I fell to the fool, not daring to close my eyes. Kaiser pushed the hooded man back with incredible force. He began walking towards the man, a menacing aura seeping out from his body. The hooded man swung his sword, hitting Kaiser on the shoulder. But his blade didn't cut the master. Instead, the blade broke in two, leaving one piece flying onto the ground. What just happened? How is master Kaiser's skin so tough? The hooded man staggered and turned away to flee. But before he could run, a white glimmer shined through my vision. Suddenly, the hooded man's head went flying off his shoulders and onto the ground. No blood was spilled, but his body laid lifeless on the ground. "M-master." I tried to walk over to him but my hearing faded away and I collapsed onto the ground. My vision began to go blurry until it eventually went completely black.
Wow… master Kaiser was able to kill that man easily. The man's power was incredible. Lura and I were overpowered in an instant. But Kaiser was able to kill the guy in just a few seconds. A sword Emperor is… strong. I wonder what his full power looks like. Perhaps, I could one day see the full power of a sword Emperor. Hmm… I wonder how Lura and Nazeem are doing. I don't think Lura was beaten up too badly, and Nazeem only passed out from the weather. So I doubt either of them are too messed up. Oh but what about me? I'm conscious… or at least I think I am. My vision is still black, but I'm probably just too tired to open my eyes. Oh shit! Am I dead!? Maybe I lost too much blood? The wound in my leg was bad but I didn't think it hit any major arteries. No no no. Master Kaiser wouldn't let me die… I hope. "Kiliano." There it is! The same voice I heard before. "Who are you!? Why are you calling my name!?" "Kiliano." Who is this person? Am I meeting god? Is that an angel's voice? Shit… I guess Kaiser is a freeloader that didn't care if I lived or died… asshole. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call me names and accuse me of leaving you for dead." Light flooded my eyes. The warm touch of cloth rubbed against my skin. I was in a bed. And master Kaiser was sitting to my left side. "Oh… I'm not dead?" "Of course not. I healed your wounds pretty easily. But you lost a lot of blood so I took you here for recovery. This is the royal family's personal healing station." I turned my gaze to the right. Nazeem and Lura were sitting there completely asleep. Nazeem's head was laying on the bed. Lura was propped against a chair, her mouth wide open with drool seeping down her shirt. "Master Kaiser? Was I talking just now?" He gave a smug grin, "Yeah you were. And I'm honestly appalled that you'd think I would let the three of you go off on your own and get yourselves killed." "S-so you were following us the entire time?" "No. I'm connected to Princess Lura's aura. When I noticed it was in distress, I followed her scent and found you guys in trouble." "Wait… her scent?" "Yes, I can use my sixth sense to follow the mana residuals of people I'm often close to. In this case, I followed Princess Lura's mana residuals and was able to make it just in time before you all died." That's pretty impressive. Master Kaiser was able to track us all down in no time at all. A sword Emperor is no joke. "You possess incredible power, don't you?" "I prefer to stay humble. But my powers are undoubtedly quite formidable compared to the average swordsman." Kaiser got up, "I'll allow you to get some rest. I've notified your parents about what has happened. They'll be here to pick you up once you've gotten enough sleep." I looked outside the window. It was dark outside. Had I been unconscious for half a day? Maybe my wounds were more severe than I realized.
The next day my father picked Nazeem and I up. He didn't seem mad, just worried. We began walking back to the hotel, I turned back to see father apologising to master Kaiser. His head was bowing down and he had his arms to his side. I guess we made a lot of trouble for him. Damn, I feel really shitty now. Why had that man come to kill us? I know for a fact that we could've made it home without any injuries if we only went through that dungeon. "Oh! Master Kaiser," I ran over to him, "Could you tell me what rank that hooded man was?" Kaiser nodded his head, "Yeah, that man was probably a Veteran, or maybe a Saint." "What! Then how come he was abl;e to overpower us so easily?" "You may be considered Veterans, but you're all still children. Your physical capabilities are lacking, compared to your skill. Once you grow older you'll surely become much more capable. Just give it time." He turned to father, "Krill Monfril. Your son has extraordinary potential. I have no doubt he'll become a great warrior with enough training. Don't be too harsh on the boy. The fact he was able to hold his own against a sword saint goes to show his potential. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going." Master Kaiser turned away from us and began walking back inside the palace. Father turned to us. His face was tense and I could tell he was hiding his excitement. "Son, you really gave us… a scare. Don't do that again, got it?" He couldn't make eye contact with me. I felt a sense of pride emanating from him. Perhaps he was happy to hear those words coming from a sword Emperor. I turned to Nazeem and the two of us gave a little chuckle. For the rest of the day we went around apologising to everyone we had worried. Although mother was furious, she was also quite relieved to hear we were alright. And once father told her what master kaiser had told him, she let out a little squeal. Her face went red and she began to form a huge smile across her face. She was also quite proud.