Afterwards, I walked with Sir Ector towards the secluded area we are meant to train in. Ector explained to me the details of the monster that surrounds the area and the approximate distance to our residence. It seems that there are monsters in this world, and they are animals that absorbed the magical power in the land.
“Watch, that… is a bear” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector says that as he points to a huge furry animal with claws.
“It carries only brute strength, and is one of the weaker monsters in the vicinity” (Sir Ector)
As he says that, the bear smashes the boulders next to it and turns it to dust.
“And you take care of a bear by doing this” (Sir Ector)
As he says that, he walks to the bear.
“Watch… and learn” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector punches the bear in the stomach with enough force to pulverize trees. The bear shows signs of gurgling, and falls down.
Great. Lesson learnt.
As Sir Ector talks to me about the dangers in the woods, he would occasionally attempt to teach me. A single slash, a single punch. There isn’t much to learn from his brute force, only the name of the monsters and sometimes… Sometimes… Their characteristics.
Looking at these “monsters”, I wonder if their the same as ours.
“Where do they come from?” (Arthur)
Sir Ector stops for a while and thinks.
“They just appear” (Sir Ector)
“Appear?” (Arthur)
“Well, some people from the East say that they are born from the land. Some from the West say it’s a form of natural transformation. My soldiers believe that their born from sex, and a conspiracy of the empire. I believe that it’s from all four.” (Sir Ector)
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This sounds fairly similar to my world. Demons are beings of magic, and we are always told that our ancestors were born from the crux of the world. We crawled out from the earth, and some of us held unimaginable power and potential within us. Monsters in the other hand, were born from the magic leaking after our birth. A natural condition from the influx of mana.
“But honestly, we don’t really know” (Sir Ector)
As Sir Ector says that, he turns his head over to me. Within a flash, he sees that there is a “Twin Headed Snake” dangling on a tree trying to ambush me. Before Sir Ector even reacts, I raise my sword and swing it like an arc, decapitating the snake clean.
“One hit kill right?” (Arthur)
Sir Ector looks at me like he couldn’t believe it, that I managed to sense the snake before he did.
“Actually, to kill snakes, you do this!” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector swings his blade twice, and another “Twin Headed Snake” falls to the ground. However, it wasn’t decapitated, but had two slits over its head to its tail.
“Looks like we’re having wine tonight son!” (Sir Ector)
As Sir Ector laughs, he swings his blade exactly 10 more times, and 5 “Twin Headed Snakes” fall to the ground.
We battled the group of snakes for 10 minutes and completely annihilated them. The snakes aren’t too troublesome as long as we could feel it’s attack. Their strength is in their stealth.
After we slaughtered the snakes, we got to set up camp and camp for the night.
Not gonna lie, I kind of liked Sir Ector. Even though he was a human, he is too much like someone I know. He showed profound knowledge, a deep understanding of life and most importantly – a good sense of humor.
If only humans tried to communicate with demons in this way, we could’ve perhaps worked together to create a better place. Too bad they’ve already picked the fight.
“And it is time for the main character of tonight’s dinner” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector says that as he rumbles in his bag.
“The Alcoholic’s jug!” (Sir Ector)
“The what?” (Arthur)
“Mhmmmmmm! This is a godsend for warriors like us, truly something that can only be known as mysterious!” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector says that as he caresses the jug like it’s a female. He slides his face up and down the jar, licking it as well. Gross.
“Look Arthur, if we put the snake in here, and water… We can create wine!” (Sir Ector)
After Sir Ector puts the snake and water in, he inserts some of his magic into the jar. The jar rumbles and the liquid turns yellow. He quickly takes it out and drinks it.
“Ah… Usually snake wine takes a long time to ferment, but by adding magic power into it, it speeds up the process and turns it into tasty wine…” (Sir Ector)
What, isn’t that time magic?
“Arthur, do you understand the miraculous of this item??? It’s the dream of every warrior, the passion of every man, the love of our lives. It’s the miraculous alcohol maker” (Sir Ector)
To put such a sophisticated spell for something so trivial… I also never thought Sir Ector was this kind of character, completely different from when he’s in combat.
Sir Ector chugs the entire jar and slowly finishes the snakes. Another one, another one, another one, another one. It’s almost like I’m looking at a machine, I don’t think even my great generals can drink this much.
“We have to celebrate Arthur… To our training!” (Sir Ector)
“I’m good” (Arthur)
To be honest, I was never quite the drinker. The last time I got drunk, I randomly confessed my love to my maid and got turned down. A mighty demon lord, to be turned down by a mere maid. I became the laughing stock for a few decades.
“I’m not going to take no for an answer.” (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector grabs my head at an unimaginable speed and puts me in a head lock.
“Wai—gurg gurg gurrr” (Arthur)
I tried my hardest to resist, but I can't. The alcohol seeps into me. It tasted terrific, but it was also very heavy. The alcohol content burnt my tongues, and then my throat, all the way to my stomach. The alcohol rushes to my head in an instant. Almost like a spell, it put me into a deep state. This has gooot to bE tHe... fastes... alcohol eVer.
Sir Ector finally let me go.
"See boy, you can do it!" (Sir Ector)
Sir Ector says that with a drunked laugh, and I can't help but feel amused as well.
"I.. Guess... I can eh!" (Arthur)
*hiccup*
"Oh, this feels... Amazing" (Arthur)
"We sould... definitely....... do some. thing for this joyous..." (Arthur)
heh, hehheh... *Hiccup*
"Occ... OCcasion!" (Arthur)
Uoooo... WhAt'SS HaaappPeeenNnning