Kai felt his arm and hand going numb as he swatted back blow after blow with his sword. The sword grew heavier in his hand. His father had not moved from his initial position even when he attempted to attack his backside. Shifting his foot, he prepared to lunge. Seeing the twinkle in his father’s eyes, he hesitated, knowing any maneuver he would make to be futile. Despite never talking about it he guessed his father was in an even higher realm of magic than Kai had been in his first life. Any maneuver he could think of would be stopped or foreseen easily by his skills and stats.
Logically, Kai knew that a mortal had no chance against someone in the fifth realm and above, but he was growing frustrated at the lack of progress to show for it. After three years of sword training and I still haven’t managed to get a hit. I know I shouldn’t be able to, the disparity is too much, but this is really freaking disheartening.
He now knew how frustrating it was when dealing with someone so much more powerful than you. Not just frustrating, but demoralizing. Of course, there had been people that had looked down on him when he first unlocked his magic, but he had quickly out-leveled them, no longer putting them in his eyes.
Kai focused his eyes on his father’s body posture and stance. Octavian’s stance was wrong, his body was loose, and his front foot was angled to the side while his left faced ahead. His feet were intentionally misaligned. I know he is giving me an opening, but it doesn’t mean shit if I can’t find a proper way to take advantage of it.
If I fight the conventional way, I will never be able to land a hit on him until I receive my magic and get near his level. Wait... Maybe that’s the answer, not to fight in the traditional approach, but do something unexpected. His father stood unmoving while Kai pondered what to do next.
Tightening his fist around the handle of the wooden sword, Kai exhaled. His heartbeat was fast but not overly so, and even though he had been fighting for half an hour his breathing was controlled. Stupid breathing techniques actually worked, he thought.
Pushing off the ground with his feet, he lunged forwards toward his father. With two hands on the handle, a sharp whack rang out as the two wooden swords collided with each other in an X pattern. He could see the boredom in his father’s eyes, mocking him. Taking a step forward, he planted his foot onto his father’s front foot. Knowing he would only have a second, he dropped his left hand from the handle, ripping the knife at his waist from its sheath before slashing out towards his father’s lower stomach trying to slice across it. He felt the knife halt completely, his father’s free hand grabbing it at the blade. No blood could be seen as he held it immobile like an unmovable boulder.
His shoulders slumped in defeat. It was obvious he had been thoroughly beaten, the difference in strength and speed was too much for him. Looking up he could see an annoying smirk on his father’s face.
“Let’s take a seat on that log.” Octavian pointed to a fallen tree trunk he had sliced down earlier in one swing earlier.
The mists were settled all around no different than usual. All of their training sessions took place out in the isolated mists near the town beginning a year ago. When Kai asked why they didn’t just train inside the village, the only response he received was, “Your mother may begrudgingly accept your training, but do you really think she wants to see it? I’d have to sleep on the couch every time your mother saw me lightly tap your brother during our spars.”
The mists still unsettled him to this day. He couldn’t help but feel like an intruder when he was traveling through them. The memory of that day three years ago still gave him pause. Thankfully, nothing like that had happened since.
“Now tell me why you chose that way to attack.”
Kai sighed. “It’s obvious there was nothing I could do against you. You are stronger and better in every aspect and standard fighting wasn’t working. The only chance I had was to pull something underhanded... Not that it worked,” he mumbled that last part.
“I was pretty impressed,” his father claimed.
Perking up, Kai felt his spirits lifted.
“Until your eyes gave you away,” his father finished.
And there it is... Kai remained silent, resisting the urge to hit his father who was still smirking at his distress. In truth, Kai was dejected. It seems impossible. Is there any way to close the gap?
Noticing his son in deep thought, Octavian interrupted, “Kai, you’re smart enough to know that true combat isn’t as honorable as what we have been doing here. True combat is chaotic and fierce. Only by training can we lay the foundation of preparing you for the upcoming chaos of battle. When you finally receive your magic, you’re going to have to find your own style and incorporate it into your swordplay or vice versa.”
“You have intellect, cunning, and determination. Although your swordplay is rough, you have something many others don’t have which is honed battle instincts. Hey, are you listening?” Octavian lightly smacked Kai in the back with his palm. “It’s only been three years since we started training, you need to relax and continue honing the basics. Gods, you’re impatient.”
Kai knew he was trying to rush ahead. He desperately wanted to catch up to the skills those who had survived over a thousand years would have developed and accumulated. In his first life, he had been a blood mage, controlling his blood and that of his enemies in battle. In those last moments of life, he had squared off against Lucian with a sword despite never properly training with one before. But it was all his resources would allow. It was easy enough to hack and slash, but true weapon mastery took more finesse and control, he was learning. His father was training him in the basics, but it wasn’t enough, he wanted more. Letting out a groan he rubbed his forehead.
Turning to his father Kai couldn’t help but wonder about his father’s childhood. The man always changed the subject or seemed reserved to talk about it. “Dad, you know better than me how dangerous these worlds are. I need you to trust me when I say that it is important that I learn to be the best fighter possible. Would you please train me harder? I don’t feel like I’m making enough progress.”
“Son... You’re too serious. You’re eleven, you should be enjoying your life with your friends...” He coughed once, “friend. Not sweating away working with your old man. I mean I know you’re not the most social person but you should be doing something else like kickball or playing pranks, annoying your mother, not training until you’re depressed or broken.”
“I’ll try to relax…” Kai gave him a look that they both knew he was not being truthful. “But, what about you? Were you training when you were my age?” He asked. He gave his father an unblinking stare, hoping to finally get a kernel of truth from him about his mysterious past.
Breaking eye contact, Kai’s father looked away, instead of focusing on the ground in front of him. He seemed uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
Kai remained unflinching in his stare, waiting for his father to continue.
“You have to remember, I’m not originally from this village. The place my family grew up is vastly different than this peaceful little hidden village. The planet Eris on which we reside is fairly safe by Myriad of Worlds standards if you can believe that. There are a few monsters that could destroy a city or two in mere minutes, but they are few and far between on Eris. And they generally stay in their own territory assuming no one is stupid enough to bother them.
“The planet I grew on is Titan Prime. By now you know the central planet which all others orbit, including the three suns. Once you finally leave this misty region that blocks the sky, you will see the incredible sight of the planets visible to the naked eye. So close that even if you stretch your hand out in front of your face, you wouldn’t even be able to cover up some of them completely. It’s truly awe-inspiring.
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“Titan Prime is one of the most dangerous planets in the Myriad of Worlds. I don’t know the exact difference in size, but it is likely thousands of times larger than this planet. Monsters that could destroy cities here are as common as muck there, and they are everywhere. Even throughout the long history of the Myriad of Worlds, the humanoid races struggle to gain ground on Titan Prime. It was expected that I would train and grow strong enough to face whatever would threaten our sanctuary there.” Finishing, Octavian had his hands wrung together squeezing tightly, clearly recalling some bad memories.
The two remained silent for a few minutes staring into the mists. “But you’re here now,” Kai stated.
All he received was a nod, his father unwilling to expand.
“Thank you for finally telling me a little about your life before you came to Eris. But seriously, I have so many questions about Titan Prime.”
It had been “the” planet everyone saw in his past life because it dominated the sky so often. It had always remained a mystery to him and humanity during those beginning years in the Myriad of Worlds.
Letting out a small laugh Octavian smiled at his son’s inquisitiveness breaking the tension. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you a little about Titan Prime, but I trust that our conversation today will have to stay between us. Your mother and grandfather are the only two who know the details of my situation before Eris.”
Kai nodded in response. To his side, he noticed Sigma was paying attention to them, no longer napping while they fought. Over the last three years, the fox had become a constant companion to Kai and his father’s outings. Strangely enough, he didn’t allow anyone to touch him, reminding Kai of an ill-tempered cat hissing at the hand that feeds.
“Alright, those questions will have to wait for now. It’s my turn to quiz you.” Octavian said while stretching his arms wide.
Growing slightly nervous, Kai could only nod his head as it was only fair since his father was taking the time to help him train.
“What do you want to get out of sword training?” Octavian asked simply.
“I want to learn to use the sword?” Kai cocked his head while answering the question awkwardly. Wasn’t it obvious?
“That’s not what I meant. I want to know what your purpose is in learning the sword. Do you want to fight humanoids, monsters, or perhaps both? To be the greatest swordsman ever? Your answer may impact what I teach you going forwards. I asked your brother this question, and you know what he told me? He said he wanted to be like me. A cute answer but not one with a lot of forethought.
“You’re different Kai. You’ve always been more mature than your siblings. Granted you have your moments where you do act your age. But there has always been... How do I say this, a certain air about you? You always have seemed to know what you want even as an infant. So, I’ll ask again, what is your purpose in learning the sword?”
Kai thought to himself for a minute. His brows furrowed as his mind kept wandering to revenge and the fact that if he had been better trained using a sword in those final moments if it would have made a difference. Could he have lived? Could he have at least killed Lucian too? Probably not.
The feelings of being betrayed still haunted him to this day. His new family had broken down the walls he built to try and protect himself. Kai realized that even if he didn’t want to, he was always going to have to give a little trust, whether it be to someone he was fighting with or a stranger. Trust was essential for a society to operate otherwise it would be anarchy. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be ready for trouble.
“I want to be ready for any situation. If monsters or enemies come at me, I’ll be able to defend myself and fight them. If my opponent has weapons training, I can counter them with my knowledge and experience. If someone wrongs me, I’ll be able to right the situation whether it be through killing them or simply defeating them.” Kai unconsciously squeezed his fists, anger flooding him as he thought about one person in particular again.
Octavian peered at his son, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Has someone done something to you son?” Octavian questioned.
Freezing for a second, Kai quickly shook his back and forth quickly. “No, no one has done anything to me,” Kai lied. His fists unclenched, but the anger was still there.
With a final look, Octavian stood up with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll leave it at that for now, but you know you can always come to talk to me son. I’ll always be available to listen and if you so wish, advise.”
Kai just nodded mutely. There was no way Kai could ever tell his family remembering his past life and his ongoing one-sided feud with Lucian who probably thought he was dead. Not only would they think him crazy but even if they did believe him, their relationship with him would change forever. Kai had grown to love his new family; they were kind and caring. He was scared to learn what their reaction would be if they learned of his past life. It would break his heart like the time he learned of Lucian’s betrayal if they chose not to accept him anymore after learning the truth. There was nothing good that could come out of his family knowing, so he would say nothing.
“Kai, Kai,” Octavian said while waving a hand in Kai’s face trying to gain his attention.
Kai looked up, to see his father’s concerned face. Hearing a crunching on the grass nearby, he turned to see a small Screaming Forest Boar walking towards them. Oddly, the matriarch fox Akane was standing on its backside without a care in the world.
What is she doing? He snickered a little at the odd sight.
“I was going to have you fight that, but I think we should do that on a different day when you can focus better. You need to have a clear mind and not get distracted by your thoughts. What if I didn’t give you a warning, and the enemy approached you while spaced out.”
“Sorry, you’re right. I promise I’ll do better,” Kai responded standing up, gripping the wooden sword. “I want to try and fight it. Please.”
Octavian stared at his son’s face, dipping his head when he saw the seriousness in it.
He then noticed his dilemma; it wouldn’t be much of a fight if he was whacking the boar with a wooden stick.
To his relief, his father noticed his plight. A ball of polished silver metal appeared in front of them. Using whatever magic powers he possessed, the ball of metal deformed quickly turning into floating liquid metal. Within a second it began taking shape into a short sword. Taking his father’s cue, Kai walked up and placed his hand on the grip. Warmth radiated in his hand, the kind of warmth he’d expect from a newly forged sword or fresh bread. The grip even had finger indents, perfectly sized for his hand. Spinning around in circular motions, he got a feel for its maneuverability and weight. Its balance is incredible, or I think it is at least. He hadn’t actually gotten to use a real sword yet, being stuck using a wooden sword for the last three years sadly. Kai stared in amazement at his father who had created this phenomenal sword for him in mere seconds. To create such a sword so quickly, his father had to have spent much of his time around swords.
Marching up to boar, Kai stopped at 5 meters away. He took a stance with his knees slightly bent, ready to react to the boar. Nodding his head, he signaled he was ready to start.
Akane hopped off the boar’s back and padded over to Sigma who lowered his head to the female fox, in a submissive greeting. Strangely, the boar stood frozen as if in a daze. Its eyes began refocusing as if it had just woken up. After shaking its head side to side, it suddenly noticed Kai in front of it. The beast gave a high-pitched yowl as it lowered its tiny tusks before charging straight for Kai.
Clearing his mind of all present distractions, Kai’s eyes remained focused on the boar, while attempting to keep the rest of his senses open to his surroundings in case his father and the fox tried to trip him. Kai noticed it appeared smaller than the one he had fought previously three years ago, meaning it was likely younger and at a lower level. It should be an easier fight but last time he had won by luck instead of skill.
The wild boar began its charge without any fanfare heading straight for Kai. Recalling the last boar had made an entire tree shake, even at the expense of knocking itself out, Kai chose to evade instead of meeting it straight on. At the last possible second, Kai dodged to the left, his sword slashing out at its front leg.
He felt his hand and sword shake, as metal met bone, causing him to nearly lose his grip. With a whine, the boar collapsed to the ground sliding a few meters. Without pausing, Kai charged at the boar, lunging towards the back leg of the downed beast. Blood splattered as he slashed across its thigh.
Injured the boar let out a bellow Infused with magic the screech cut through the air, Kai’s eyes ringing. Dropping his sword, Kai closed his eyes as he covered his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out the sound. It muted it partly, but the ringing persisted. As soon as the sound stopped a few seconds later, he opened his eyes. Removing his hands from his ears, grabbed at the sword, only to find the once hard handle now slick with wetness. Turning his hands over, he noticed blood on his palms, likely blood that had come from his ears. Not much more than a trickle, but enough to give him pause.
A stick cracking through the ringing noise caused his head to shoot up. The boar had begun to limp away, not even bothering to use its front leg that Kai had cut first. Kai walked slowly to the even slower boar. While its back was still turned, he slashed down at the same spot on its opposite back leg, slicing into something hard. Collapsing the boar let out a soft whiny squeal. He felt pity for the beast as it lay there, lame from its injuries. It had done nothing but defend itself in its own territory. Kai knew that any pity was wasted, the laws of the world were simple. Be strong or die. And this boar would be his second steppingstone in this life to his path of growth and strength.
Clutching the sword with both hands Kai drove it into the side of the barely breathing beast. There was a slight resistance before it pierced the rest of the way through to its brain, the breathing quieting immediately.
Standing still Kai breathed deeply, his ears still rung with a high pitch, a minor annoyance in the background now.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he heard the muffled voice of his father. “You did well.”