"Become a knight?" Lukas looked at Celdric, his face covered in scars as if he had been through many things.
Celdric nodded.
"But I don't even have decent sword skills—" Lukas lowered his head, "—I can't even use magic, how could I possibly become a knight?"
"I will teach you because I had a small promise to your grandfather." Celdric gave a faint smile, patted his shoulder, and then walked out of the small hut.
Lukas looked after him, wiping away his tears, and followed with a sense of trust.
"S-sir Celdric, I'm sorry about earlier—"
"Don't worry."
Celdric silently watched Lukas, as if lost in thought.
"Before we start." Celdric gestured with his index finger, signaling Lukas to come closer.
"Wh-what is it?"
Without answering, Celdric placed his right hand on Lukas' left eye. Lukas was startled and tried to pull away.
"Stay still, trust me."
Lukas tried to trust him, feeling a slight pain in his eye. A few seconds passed before Celdric slowly withdrew his hand. Smoke seemed to rise.
Slowly, Lukas opened his left eye, and the color of his eye had turned black.
He then took out his sword and used it as a mirror.
"How did you change the color of my eye?" He was confused, but a faint smile appeared on his face. For the first time, he felt happy seeing his eye look normal.
"I only changed the color of your eye, but it will only work temporarily until something triggers it."
"What do you mean?" His smile faded.
"I can't explain it, only you will know the answer—"
"—now draw your sword and try to strike me with all your strength."
Lukas nodded, took a few steps back, assumed his stance, and drew a deep breath.
Haaah!
He swung his sword toward Celdric's neck, but Celdric avoided the attack as if he could read his movements.
Lukas tried to strike Celdric repeatedly; his sword cut through the air, but Celdric didn't seem serious in dodging.
Lukas panted heavily, paused for a moment to catch his breath, and then struck with all his strength.
Suddenly.
Bang!—
Celdric blocked the sword and counterattacked with a punch to Lukas' stomach. Lukas was thrown back, gasping, kneeling on one knee while clutching his stomach.
"Aaaaa... Was that really necessary?" Lukas groaned in pain.
"It's necessary to build your endurance." Then Celdric gestured for him to attack again.
Hyahh!
Hours passed, and it was already evening; Celdric still hadn't been hit once.
HAH.. HAH.. HAH...
"I don't know what else I can do… everything seems useless in front of you." Lukas lay on the ground, panting, his body filthy.
"True, your movements are indeed poor—" Lukas got up, narrowing his eyes at Celdric, "—but you have something others do not."
"What is that?" His eyes widened, looking seriously at Celdric.
"The power behind your eye—" Celdric sat beside Lukas, "—if you can control it, you will become stronger than before."
"But…" Lukas lowered his head, using his sword as a mirror to look at his eye.
"Know this: when you manage to control that eye, you will gain something you could never imagine." His gaze serious toward Lukas.
Lukas remained silent, he lowered his face, thinking about his words.
Night gradually fell.
"Then let's head back to the village and continue another time." He stood, and Lukas nodded, following behind him.
Once in the village, many people were on the streets, seemingly talking about something.
"That girl deserved that punishment for conspiring with demons.
"Yes, I agree."
Hearing this, Lukas recalled what happened yesterday with Feline; he seemed to carry a sadness hidden behind his tears.
Passing in front of the Mage Hall, Lukas noticed the execution device nearby, with fresh bloodstains not long ago.
He smelled the blood, and his left eye burned. He had a faint vision of Feline crying in agony, blood pouring from her head. Lukas' eyes widened.
"Fe—" Celdric covered his mouth.
Slowly, a mage approached them.
"Master Celdric, long time no see."
"Aaaa… Heza, it's been a while."
They seemed to know each other and began talking about what had happened in front of the Mage Hall. Listening, Lukas' eyes widened, and a haunting sense of guilt returned. Tears fell again.
"By the way, Master Celdric, who is this man?" Heza narrowed her eyes at Lukas.
He sensed a strange aura from him. Slowly, he studied him, his gaze fixed on Lukas' left eye.
"Master Celdric, may I—" His hand slowly reached toward Lukas.
"Sorry, Heza, but this adventurer is dealing with a problem and must be taken to the guild." While his hand covering Lukas mouth he forced him to walk away, even though he froze, shocked by what he heard from the mage Heza.
"Excuse me." Lukas and Celdric walked toward the guild, still quite far from the Mage Hall, but Heza's gaze remained fixed on Lukas.
After parting with Celdric, Lukas walked toward the inn, his face downcast, eyes empty.
Tring—
"Welcome." The innkeeper greeted him, but he only nodded.
Lukas then lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his eyes glistening.
(Why… Why did this happen to Feline? Is it because of this eye?) He then curled up, hugging his knees.
The next day, Lukas went to the guild, dark circles under his eyes, unable to sleep as he thought about what happened yesterday.
His gaze was empty, head down, as he entered the guild. It was unusually quiet, perhaps because of the execution that had taken place.
A red-haired girl smiled behind the receptionist desk, as if nothing had happened—was this what professionalism meant?
"Excuse me, is Master Celdric here?"
"Sorry, Master Celdric is away today." The girl smiled at Lukas. "Oh, and he left a message for you—" She tried to recall it, "if you came… he said we'll continue another time. For now, focus on improving your rank."
"Then what quest should I do to reach platinum rank?"
"Let me check." She walked to the quest board, studying it carefully.
"Here, take a look." Lukas approached and saw where she pointed. It was a gold-tier mission, with a reward of 160 gold.
{Please help find the missing villagers (signed by the village head of Westran).}
Lukas felt something was off, as such a mission should not be gold-tier.
"Shouldn't a mission like this be silver or lower?" he asked the receptionist with curiosity.
"True, but this mission is a bit different. It's actually been completed several times—" the girl slightly lowered her head, "—but the village head still requested help, and the guild master suspected something unusual in the village, so the mission was upgraded to gold."
"Aren't there any other missions?"
"For gold-tier missions right now, this is the only one. New missions will update next week."
Lukas stroked his chin.
(My skills are still lacking, but if I refuse, it will slow my progress.)
A few moments passed. He exhaled and, with hesitation, decided to take on the mission.
"Alright, I'll take it."
She explained that the village was located west of the current village, quite far, and that they would have to pass through a forest. Even carriages rarely went there because the horses seemed frightened.
Hearing this, Lukas felt even more hesitant, but he convinced himself to take the mission in order to uncover the truth about himself and his grandfather.
Alright, I'll do it.
The next day, around noon, Lukas walked toward Westran village. The surroundings were only filled with dense trees, the atmosphere strange and silent, not a single bird chirping.
Halfway through, he decided to stop briefly to eat his provisions. He sat under a fairly large tree by the road but sensed a strange smell and felt a dark aura watching him.
From his spot, he saw a shadowy figure behind a tree, but he ignored it, assuming it was just a tree's shadow.
Lukas resumed his journey.
Before he knew it, it was already evening. Lukas arrived not far from the village. The place was eerily quiet, no one in sight, and the air felt damp. Lukas observed the village carefully. Suddenly, someone appeared, standing at the village gate.
An elderly man, rather short, holding a staff in his hand, stared intently and smiled at Lukas' arrival, tapping the staff with his finger. Lukas steeled himself, slowly approaching, feeling the strange aura intensify.
Kraa... Kraa...
The cawing of crows echoed nearby. Lukas instantly looked toward the source of the sound.
-CONTINUE-