“ARGHTH!!!”

I felt a surge of pain and heat through my body as I stood in the magic circle where I was summoned. The heat and pain travel through my body coalescing at the center of my collar bone. A searing heat like fire as English words traveled up from the magic circle restaining me like chains while simultaneously flowing into me. Words flowed up my arms toward the center of my collar bone where a cyan-blue glow started to shine. More pain as heat flowed with what felt like every cell in my body being forged.

“AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGTTTTHHHH!!!!!!!”

I let out another cry as my body writhes with pain and I struggled to not blackout. The chains of glowing cyan words on my wrist keeping me in place. Otherwise, I would’ve long fallen to my knees. Then my bonds released me as I fell to my knees as the last of the strange chains flowed into my body to my chest. The Cyan Shine dimmed slowly as it begins to take the shape of a spiral, like the ones they use on the weather station to depict hurricanes. It was blue. I breathed laboriously as I felt the pain stop and the heat cooling down. At some point, it seemed that my shirt was burned off by the heat as parts of it were hanging around my waist and my chest was covered in ash. I was about to pass out when I heard footsteps approaching me and looked up at the blonde woman my strength returning to me as I realized I was in a strange room with people I don’t know.

The Blonde Woman, “It is indeed the Mark of the Hero. Strange that it took so much mana to form it.”

A man in a black hood with blue decorations walked up to her and said, “Your Holiness it appears a large portion of the mana was used to strengthen his body. As before the marking took place he was much leaner, now his body seems much more muscular. I wonder if this means the realms he hails from has much weaker natives than our blessed thirteen realms. Praise The Great Storm”

Everyone else in the room, “Praise The Great Storm!!!”

Just what have I gotten into….

“Who are you people?”

The men in full plate armor all stomp their feet once bow their head and place their right fists above their hearts as the men and women in robes bow the heads and their hands in their sleaves.

Everyone else in the rooms but the blonde woman, “You stand before her holiness the Crown Princess, The High Priestess, Hier of the Oracle and sole daughter of the Sacred Monarch who rules this Kingdom of Ori!

Her Holiness, Princess Aria Crown!”

“Okay.”

Crown Princess Aria, “Ehem…… Who might you be, Champion?”

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“I am Dean Hernandez.”

Crown Princess Aria, “……… Any titles?”

Dean Hernandez, “Uh, My friends like to call me Lean Dean?”

Crown Princess Aria, “………..”

Dean Hernandez, “Its short for Lean Dean Fighting Machine.”

Crown Princess Aria, “Oh! So you're experienced in combat then.”

Dean, “Uh, I’ve been a number of brawls but nothing lethal.”

Crown Princess Aria, “Hmm… Well then, we will first see to it that you are trained in combat. That is if you are willing to help us?”

Dean, “With what exactly?”

Princess Aria, “Oh, of course, how rude of me. Almost thrusting you into something I have yet to explain.

Our kingdom’s capital is besieged on all sides by the army of the Daemon Emperor, while miasma encroaches on the boundaries of the kingdom. It is only with the enchanted pillars that we have been able to keep the miasma at bay. The mages, paladins, and priests are all that stand between us and the daemon army, all our standard soldiers are dead only our elite units being able to put up a fight against the daemons, even then it is mostly defensive enchantments and spells keeping them at bay.

Thus we have been unable to progress further in researching how to get rid of the miasma permanently. All we have are enchantments to block out miasma nothing beyond that. Not only that but we won’t last much longer at this rate. I implore you to help us, Dean Hernandez.”

Dean, “Sure, but I don’t see what I could possibly do, I mean this mark does it even give me powers, if so then what kind?”

Princess Aria, “According to the Ethereal Tome, the Mark of the Hero filters all energies you come into contact with, absorbing and refining them into your strength, even granting you new abilities. Anything you kill will automatically have its essences and energies absorbed, refined, and processed into part of your cultivation base or abilities. Knowledge of the final products will be sent into your mind automatically.

It is through these main functions of the Mark of the Hero that you will rapidly gain strength, even now your body absorbs mana automatically.”

Dean, “Seriously?! That so….. Cheat-like. Huah… Alright, let's get started.”

Princess Aria stands up straight and claps her hands once, “Great! Follow me please we must begin your training immediately.”

She said as she shuffled out the room her hands still clasped together in excitement.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

There we stood as in a great stone hall surrounded by torches, as the princess instructed me.

Princess, “Now usually we would guide you in sensing mana before using it but we simply don’t have time for that. Hence first things first we will teach to cast rudimentary spells. Now then for rudimentary spells intent is enough. Simply thrust forth your hand and will a mana bolt forward with the intent to damage the practice dummy.”

Dean, “Ok, here I go.”

I thrust my hand forth with the intent of sending forth a damaging mana bolt, and with a small crack of thunder a bolt of yellow lightning flew at the practice dummy and both exploded.

I look at my hand then look at the remains of the dummy and turn towards the princess. Her eyes wide she bowed her head with her fist in her palm praying as she dropped to her knees along with everyone else in the room.

“Praise the Great Storm……”

What followed was a few minutes of incoherent whispered praying, when everyone finally stood up I asked the Princess, “Is that supposed to happen?”

Princess Aria, “Ah! My apologies I got caught up in the miracle no the work of Ethereal himself before me. You see what you cast was not a mana bolt but something entirely new, resembling only one thing I’ve only heard of before.

A hundred years prior during the invasion of the Vile Serpent, Ethereal used bolts of Gold Lightning to banish it from our realms. What you used while obviously not gold is what I now believe to be refined mana, refined by the work of Ethereal himself, which is the Mark of the Hero that lays on your chest.

Hoh, Praise the Great Storm.”