The mace loomed over me. It was already too late, dodging wasn't an option. I held up my wooden buckler in sheer terror at the overwhelming force that was bearing down upon me. Knowing that blocking wasn't going to be enough I forced all of the mana I could into my bones and muscles to brace myself against the impact. Anything less than that and I would have surely broken an arm or a leg. The blow came down on the shield, completely pulverizing it. Splinters were sent in all directions forcing me to close my eyes. Not a moment later I realized my mistake as I was still reeling from the hit and hadn’t moved to prepare for the next attack. I quickly opened my eyes and leveraged my legs to dodge backwards only to find a boot about to kick me in my chest. I just barely had enough time to reinforce my ribs and breathe out in order to avoid getting the wind knocked out of me. The foot connected, sending me rolling across the ground like a rag doll. I came to a stop at the edge of the crater we were using as an arena and fell limp on the ground.
The referee called a stop to the match, and a collective sigh came from all of the on lookers, as well as my opponent, Sally. We were currently on the training fields in a giant bowl that had been gouged from the earth decades before during a duel. She jogged up to me dragging her giant mace with one arm, leaving a clean trail behind her. After she was out of the way the proctor called on two more kids in order to begin the next fight. Once a week mock battles were held here between all of the would-be adventurers and mine had just ended. I couldn't remember ever seeing Sally more smug than she was right then.
"You know Onii-chan, you probably should just stick to the books…"
Lying on my back and looking up at the sky, my training sword slip from my grasp along with the last respect I had as a big brother. It was now late summer, and it had only taken 4 months for Sally to best me in a duel despite her being behind more than a year's worth of experience.
Intuitive types really are the worst.
While wrongly assuming that the trauma I had just experienced was physical rather than mental, Sally squatted down next to me with somewhat feigned concern and began to apply healing magic. The warmth of her mana flowing through my body only served to exasperate the damage to my wounded pride. Avice looked down on me from the top of the crater shaking her head.
"tsk tsk tsk, I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened with how little effort you put in."
"That's the last thing I want to hear right now. I spend every waking moment training. Where are my words of encouragement? A little bit of positive reinforcement can go a long ways."
"Well… I'm positively sure that you need to figure out how to reinforce your shield if you're going to block like a retard."
Her words cut deep, especially since I knew they were right. Standing still and closing your eyes would practically be a death sentence on a real battlefield; that's obvious. I had seen Sally destroying giant rocks with one swing, so I went in knowing that I couldn't take a strike; but as the old saying goes, everyone has a plan until they get hit. Still, on my back, I pointed at Avice and confronted her in an accusing tone.
"You're the one that made my body like this! Take responsibility!"
"Don't say it like that! And just because I'm your main practice partner doesn't mean you can put the blame on me! Learn how to fight against other people already!"
Avice and I had moved onto dulled metal swords in late spring. Her weapon of choice turned out to be a longsword; one that could be reasonably wielded with one or two hands. After dueling her every day, the strategy I fell into to handle the insane speed of her strikes was to just reinforce my own body and take trades. I knew that wasn't going to work against everybody I came across, if a hit from a real weapon broke my defenses I could die instantly; but for now, it was better than just "fighting properly" and ending every day covered in bruises and wounds.
It wasn't a lie when I said I trained more than anyone. Anytime I wasn't doing battle practice or physical training, I was either sprawled out somewhere unable to move, or studying magic. This world was a dangerous place, I knew that better than anyone. I was doing everything in my power to make sure I could survive any encounter since the consequences of my death were so high. With a satisfied look, Sally finished healing me and helped me back onto my feet. Ken had taken his time circling around the arena from the gallery but had finally gotten us. He seemed more disappointed than anyone.
"You still have a long ways to go huh?"
"The road to mastering the sword is a long one."
"No, I mean you still owe me 5 laps around the valley."
"Gehh… give me a break here… Wait, it was only 3 laps an hour ago."
"That was before you lost to your little sister. You clearly haven't trained hard enough."
How is that everyone come to that same conclusion?
It's not that I didn't respect my father and his teaching practices. He was the best sword master in Glorywood and people from all around the continent made the journey here hoping to be trained by him. His schooling had produced dozens of the best active monster slayers in the world. Any of them that come back to pay a visit always have stories of saving towns and cities from threats that would have easily overwhelmed an army from my original world. I just wish Ken was a bit more flexible when it came to understanding his pupil's needs.
"Let's head back… Hell week is about to start."
"But the last 6 months have been hell!"
At that moment, my Father's glare might have been able to slice a person in half. I had heard stories of that literally happening from some of the older adventurers. It was enough to make my sisters and me all instinctively shiver. I didn't know what had made him decide to take this so seriously, but he wasn't in the mood for jokes. He turned to walk away and we obediently began to follow.
Welp, I guess this is as good of a time as any.
It was a 15 minute walk back to the mansion. I dragged my feet in the back as our group trudged on silently in our full armor. One of our training routines was to imbue our equipment with mana whenever we weren't actively fighting. Using mana outside of the body was a lot more taxing than muscle strengthening so it slowed our pace down considerably. When we were about halfway home I poked Sally and motioned her to talk to Ken in an attempt to break the silence.
"Uhhh… It's nice that I've been getting stronger, right Grandpa?"
He responded without slowing his pace or turning around.
"I'd be more impressed with your growth if you weren't using that crutch. Anyone can blindly swing a giant metal stick if they throw enough mana into it. Eventually, you'll run into a wall called discipline and you won't be able to overcome it."
Sally nervously shifted the position of the mace on her shoulder. In reality, there were reasons that Ken didn't know about as for why she had decided to use it over a sword like the rest of the family. The first was that she had been secretly practicing her witch arts with me. One day I pointed out an illustration in one of my books to Sally. It depicted a mage in full armor and wielding a mace with a giant crystal on the end. Her eyes lit up when she saw the lighting coming out of the tip of the mace. She practically decided her weapon of choice right then and there. A mace was a melee weapon that could double as a magic staff.
The second reason was not nearly as good as the first. She was simply too lazy to bother doing the 1,000s of practice swings needed to master the sword. Sally was the type of person that suffered from her own success. She would soak up knowledge and expertise like a sponge, but the moment she encountered a hurdle that took work to overcome she would move on to something else. I was a bit worried for her future, but I figured as long as she was working on some sort of skill at all times then it would probably work out. Still walking, Sally spent a long time looking at her feet thinking before finally responding.
"A mace should be fine for killing monsters at least. It's not like I was planning on going to war or anything."
Ken stopped in place under a tree as if to think for a moment.
"Yes, there are in fact people out there that go that route, and if that's what you want to do it's fine; but just know that you are probably never going to get to come back to the village in that case."
Sally and Avice caught their breath as he turned around to look at Sally with a serious face before continuing.
"I know it's hard to imagine right now, but most of the world is in a state of constant war. I don't simply mean that people are fighting monsters or the elements. There are bandits raiding villages, lords disputing over land, and even entire nations fighting over wealth or religion. If you're going to be an adventurer anywhere besides the middle of nowhere then you are going to have to kill people. It's just part of what's expected of you anywhere there might be disputes between men."
The two looked back down at their feet at a loss for words. Ken began to look around a bit confused.
"By the way, where's Manuel."
"What? He was just here."
The two girls, especially Avice, began to look around frantically for me. The reason they couldn't find me was that I was hiding and watching from the tree directly above them. If I moved a muscle I would be found instantly. Since I was looking down the barrel of the gun known as "Hell Week" I had decided this would be my best chance to unveil the magic I had been working on all summer, stealth magic. After a lot of trial and error, I had started to get better at controlling the precision of the spells I was casting. Rather than make a small fireball I could light a candle, or instead of a gust of wind I could make it a stream. I wasn't sure why I had improved so rapidly but I wasn't going to question it as I was just satisfied with finally being able to use magic for something besides lighting the fireplace.
The trick I used here was simple. Ever since the moment we started walking, I had stayed at the back of the group and slowly kept reducing the sound that came from each of my steps little buy little by creating an air cushion under my feet. Once the conversation started and I made sure no one was looking at me I slipped into the tree. I then activated the two rouge skills that had taken the longest to figure out. The body sized vacuum wall to stop sound and the no-lung-movement breathing technique that involved creating a complex stream of air that went into your lungs and then back out. After observing the surroundings for a moment Ken asked the question I was most worried about.
"You can't smell him Avice? It's your job to keep track of him."
She looked around sniffing the air the best she could and then shook her head in worry. Whether that worry was for me or for her I wasn't sure.
This was the second layer of my attack. This escape plan had been years in the making at this point. Avice was always there following me around no matter what I had tried; but especially after we began dueling every day, I started keeping mental notes of all of her weaknesses that I could find. Anything that might give me a slight edge. Fortunately, the list was easy to remember since it only had a handful of entries.
Avice's fatal weak point number 3: Minor Pollen Allergies.
For a single week during the end of summer a specific flower blooms around the valley in patches that paint the mountain purple. At the point in the path we were stopped at was right in the middle of a patch of these flowers. This theory I had that Avice was allergic to exactly this flower had not been well tested since I didn't want to show my hand until now; but after a few years of careful observation, I was confident this was one of the few spots and times that I could slip away.
Avice snorted up some snot to try and clear her nose but that probably only made the problem worse as a drip began to flow from one of her nostrils. The worry began to grow into panic on her face.
"Wait here I think he ran back to the training field."
Before anyone could say anything, she started to dash back the way we had come. A sense of relief washed over me because that meant I didn't have to fall back on the contingency plan, the bag of spice powder that I had thrown at the base of the tree. It had been an expensive tool to acquire, but I had already committed to following through with this even if it meant doing temporary damage to Avice's nose. Ken sighed.
"...Alright Sally, I'm sure she'll find him in a few minutes. Let's just head home ahead of them."
"Mmmm… alright Grandpa…"
The two started off again in the direction of the mansion, but even with the greatest threat gone, I didn't dare let up on my wind casting. Just before they rounded the corner in the road Ken turned his head just enough to make eye contact with me right before disappearing behind a tree.
How does he always know?
--------------------
Purely at the graces of my father, I had gotten my first taste of true freedom in years. It wasn't like I was planning on leaving the village or anything like that, but I just needed a break and some alone time. If I was lucky I might even get to sleep by myself tonight and get a good peaceful rest without worrying about being strangled or crushed by Avice’s sleep induced vice grip.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Once I was sure I was alone I began to slink away into the darkness, still utilizing stealth magic to cover the sound of my steps. I scattered the rest of the spice powder behind me in case Avice was able to pick up my trail again. We had been on the north side of the river so there was only really one direction I could go if I wanted to stay out of the open. I went north through the forest and up to the ridge of the nearest mountain.
Despite years of preparing my break out, I hadn’t given too much thought as to what I would do after. I decided the first step would be to put as much distance as I could between me and Avice’s nose, so I began to climb out of the valley. It took well over an hour, but I made it to the peak that overlooked the fields and community center. Luckily, it was the middle of the day so the hunter cabin I had to pass by had been empty. I also didn't have to worry about food for now as I would occasionally come across brambles of berry bushes that I could forage from.
This was my first time getting a look at Glorywood and its surroundings from above. Although the view was majestic I knew I couldn't stay around admiring it for too long. There were plenty of people with perfect eyesight in the village, and at some point the on duty hunter would have to pass through here.
There was a lake to the east that I had heard about before but never seen. The rumor was that the scattered cabins all belonged to various freaks and weirdos who didn’t want to live in the village or socialize. The only person I could see on that side of the mountain was a man with a giant fishing pole in hand, sitting on a deck that was connected to one of the cabins on the lake.
That's probably the life right there. Just relaxing and fishing… Are there even fish in there?
As if to answer my question something in the water caught the man's line and began to struggle. The man reeled in the line a few feet, enraging the fish before letting a bit of slack off to calm it down and continuing the cycle. I decided to sit down on a rock and watch for a few minutes as the fierceness of the battle climbed with each rotation.
Wait wait wait...
When this contest of strength first began I couldn't imagine the fish being bigger than a human arm, but now that it was closer to the surface I could tell that it was easily bigger than the man. The grapple had lasted for nearly 10 minutes by the time the thing on the hook revealed itself. A spider-like fish with 8 legs, that was at least half the size of the cabin burst from the surface lunging straight at the man. I had seen plenty of monster corpses being turned in for parts, but besides a few small ones, I had never seen such a monstrosity in the flesh before.
Almost as though he was coming home to an impatient dog welcoming its master, the man outstretched his arms to the monster flying at him and he disappeared under the creature. I could only stare in horror at the spectacle of the strange beast dragging its prey back under the lake.
"Oh don't worry about him."
I turned around with a start ready to be eaten myself. A man in leather hunter garb with a bow strung across his back was standing right next to me looking over my shoulder at the lake.
Fuck, I messed up.
He pointed to the edge of the lake opposite the cabin.
"Ahh see there he is."
I followed his finger, and sure enough, the man from before came triumphantly trudging out of the water, dragging the head of the fish-spider over his shoulder by the organs coming out of its neck.
Holy shit… what a fucking weirdo.
"You're one of Ken's kids right?"
Fuck…
"Uhh no, I'm just a traveling hobbit merchant taking a rest, no need to mind me."
The hunter scratched his unkempt stubble while examining me.
"Well… I only ask because there is wolf girl running around asking every person she meets where you're at."
He pointed his thumb down the other side of the mountain. Upon inspecting him closer, I realized that I had seen the man a few times turning in monster parts at the great hall. The jig was up.
"I don't suppose you can keep quiet about where I'm at? I was in the middle of an important mission."
"If it's so important that you need to make your sister run around the valley screaming bloody murder while looking for you then I don't mind."
"Is it that bad?"
He nodded with a sad sympathetic look.
If I don't convince him right here I'm done for.
"Look, I'll be honest with you. For as long as I can remember that girl has been hanging around my neck. I was just trying to skip a couple days of training and get some alone time."
"I guess I can understand that. If that's all it is I guess I don't mind helping you out a bit."
"Oh, can I stay at the hunter cabin then? I doubt anyone would find me there."
"Kid, you're out of your mind if you think I'm going to harbor an Imminas fugitive. Ken would have my head."
"That's… probably true…"
"I mean, if you're just looking for a place to lay low for a few days, there is always the old collapsed temple down the road. No one ever goes in there."
He pointed straight south at the neighboring valley.
"Temple?"
That was a word I didn't expect to hear. In the 6 years since my rebirth, I still hadn't been able to contact my caseworker of a goddess. Whenever I brought up churches or religion people always seemed to wave it off. I knew that an ancient dwarven road that the hunters used ran through the middle of this next door valley but I had never heard of an "old temple". Looking up, I realized I had been lost in thought and the man was waiting for me.
"It's just down this road?"
"You can't miss it."
Well if it has somewhere to sleep that could solve a few problems but…
"Hey, mister. Could you do me a favor?"
"Depends. I'm not planning on babysitting while you play hooky if that's what you want."
"No, it's just… Next time you make it down the hill could you tell my sister you saw a kid diligently training somewhere? Anywhere but that temple."
"If I see her sure… I'm not going out of the way for this."
"That's all I can ask. You konw, you looked like a bad guy, but I guess you aren’t huh?"
"…Hurry up and go before someone down below sees us together."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm off."
I began to leave in the direction he had pointed.
"Here, catch."
I turned back around just in time to see a water flask fill my vision before hitting me in the face.
"Oop… You're going to have to work on those reflexes kid."
I hadn't been channeling mana defensively at all so I took the full force of the hit to the nose. I tended to my injury and mumbled out a reply despite my constricted nasal passage.
"Thanks for the advice."
He had already turned to leave and gave a slight wave without looking back.
He really is a good guy.
--------------------
It didn't take long to travel down the other side of the mountain and find the ancient cobblestone path. I remained off the road just in case a hunter decided to pass by, but I doubted how much it would help against the senses of an active hunter. After an hour of slowly traveling through the forest, I made it to the building that the man had described.
Sure enough, it looked like a simple one story church with a steeple in the back. It was impossible for me to tell how old it really was, but it was built using the same cobblestone bricks as the paths so this church had to have been here before Glorwood was founded. I saw no markings on the outside to denote what type of religion had once been practiced here. Moss and some vines covered the sides. The structure itself was mostly intact, but one of the front corners had collapsed. A large tree had grown out from under the rubble which would have been a good clue if I had known the life spans of the local trees.
Why would this even be up here? I don’t think there was ever any civilization on the mountain besides the dwarves.
A simple arched entryway with two handleless metal doors led inside. Eager to finally find a place to rest, I walked up and pushed on them both at the same time with enough force to break the rust that held the two together. As the seal broke, the doors swung open smoothly as if they had been oiled that day. My weight, suddenly free, forced me to fall onto the floor face first.
On the inside, a puddle of stale water had formed where an indent had been built in the floor. A few shrubs and weeds grew from cracks and vines crept up the walls. The air was humid and earthy, almost like I had walked into a greenhouse. There was no furniture or signs of people.
I guess the hunter was right, no one comes here.
In the back corner, a door made of the same metal as the front ones led to a room that was directly under the steeple. Next to the door sat an altar that had the only symbology in the room. A statue that seemed untouched by time depicted a figure completely veiled in a cloak with a halo-like star behind its head. There was something otherworldly about it, but I couldn't decide what it was.
I hope that fulfills the "higher power" requirement.
I clasped my hands together and offered a quick prayer to this nameless deity. Not seeing a good place to rest I decided to check the back room. The door swung open just as easily as the ones in the front and led to a room similarly taken by the elements. A metal ladder was built into the wall that led up to the hatch of the steeple.
Cmon I just want to sleep… I just need anything that isn't a floor or a wall…
Under the ladder, I noticed another hatch. It took a few minutes for me to pry it open, but when I did I revealed a dark space below. I created a basic fireball for light and carefully stuck my head in. The flame revealed a small enclosed rectangular room. The air was clean and cool, but more surprisingly the space was spotless. The walls and floor were metal and a desk rested against the far side.
"There it is!"
In front of the desk lay what I sought. I had never been so happy to see a chair in either of my lives. I stopped myself from jumping down the hole instantly and made a deliberate attempt to examine everything I could about the hatch and the area below. The hatch didn't seem to have any sort of locking mechanism and there were no signs of life inside, so I slipped down the hole looking forward to the first quiet rest I had gotten in a very long time.
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYbKG2oC.png [https://i.imgur.com/YbKG2oC.png][https://i.imgur.com/YbKG2oC.png]