It’s been a month, many things has happened.
It’s year 2229, technology has advanced. There’s television, camera, even telephone. However, things like car, motorcycle, guns, internet, train and plane doesn’t exist.
They use tamed monster for transportation. I’ve seen a carriage being pulled by an armoured bull with 3 horns. Judging from the carriage design and the monster pulling it, the owner must be from a wealthy family.
Noble and commoner people do exist, just like every fantasy book I’ve read. I don’t think I need to hear any more of this.
Races… there’s human, elf, fairy, werebeast, titan, and mutant.
Mutant isn’t exactly a race, they are just people who’s born either with a gift or a curse. The majority is the latter.
The races aren’t limited to those six, there are others too. It’s just they are the most influential races at the moment.
And the old man was pretty happy having his hand fixed, sometimes I can saw him laughing while looking at his hand for no reason. He’s starting to scare me.
And the girl… I’m not sure about her.
When I asked the old man where are the other kids, he said they were at the nearby village. Duran Village.
“Why is she always playing alone? Why not go to the village? And why didn’t you tell me there’s a village?”
I asked him while looking at Ann playing alone in the backyard.
“That’s because you didn’t ask. She doesn’t have many friends you know? they alienated her because--.”
“Let me guess… she steals food from other people?”
He looks perplexed hearing my answer.
“No, of course not. Does she looks like a glutton to you?”
Yes she is. She stole my omelette a couple times and when I caught her red-handed, she would put up an innocent look. That wouldn’t work on me, I flicked her forehead and she would pout all day.
“So, why?”
“... Because she’s an outsider. They don’t take outsider kindly, in fact, they hated them.”
“What about you? Do they ‘alienated’ you too?”
“Not really, I’ve been living in this place for 43 years. They don’t even care anymore.”
“I see…”
The old man sighed and told me that there’s some milk in the fridge and I can drink it whenever I wanted to, then he walked away. He’s still treating me like a kid doesn’t he?
I looked outside and I see Ann is playing in the backyard alone. I feel pity for her, I know that feeling too well.
Being alienated by society isn’t something to take lightly.
Nothing I can do.
…
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Open up!! We are the knights of Zeragon!”
Suddenly out of nowhere, some guy is banging the front door.
The knights of what? Who are these people?
The old man and I walked outside and see 5 men wearing heavy armour with swords on their waist. On their armour, a symbol of a dragon can be seen.
I can’t see their faces because of the iron helmets.
“What is the matter gentlemen?”
The old man asked them with a polite tone, trying to be neutral.
“We are the knights of Zeragon, we come here to collect taxes.”
“With respect sir, I’ve already paid two weeks ago, I believe there’s a mist--”
“Silence! This is an order! The tax has gone up to 3 gold coins, either pay up or we will confiscate your belongings!”
“3 gold coins!? That’s 3 times higher than normal! This is an extortion!”
They will confiscate our belongings if we can’t pay? Are these people for real? I don’t know how much is 3 gold coins, but aren’t they a bit too… demanding?
One of the knights grabbed his sword and pointing it at the old man, threatening him.
“Are you rebelling against the kingdom!?”
“Rebelling!? Of course not!”
“Then pay up or we will confiscate your belongings!”
“This is ridiculous!”
The old man was so angry, that I can see his veins popped up.
“You are rebelling against the kingdom! We will take your head as punishment!”
What!? These people are serious!
The 5 of them unsheathed their swords and charged at us.
I was about to smack their heads to their sleep when suddenly the old man rushed at them first.
The old man was actually pretty agile despite his age. He punched them in the solar plexus so skillfully, even the armour was broken to pieces. Every time the enemy tried to slash him, he always dodged by a hairbreadth, not because he’s slow or anything like that, he’s doing it in purpose. There are no wasted movements, it was all calculated… this old man is strong.
Within seconds, all those men are lying on the ground unconscious.
I was stupefied. I can feel the excitement, the suspense… it was amazing;.
“Are these guys really a knight? They are just swinging their swords blindly.”
I heard the front door opened and saw Annie’s head popped out from the side.
“What’s happening over there?”
“Nothing, just some people looking for trouble.”
Answered the old man nonchalantly.
“How… did you do that?”
I was so amazed, that I spoke without realizing it.
“Hmm? Did what?”
“That. Uh… punching people and stuff.”
“Oh that, it was just a simple martial arts combined with a bit of Soul Essence.”
“I, that was incredible, I didn’t know you can use Soul Essence too.”
I praised him with admiration. I thought this old man only know how to smith and farming, but who knows he’s actually an expert of martial arts. I guess I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
“Haha! It’s nothing much, boy. There are others that a hundred times, thousand times better than me in martial arts.”
Even though he said that, he’s still laughed.
The old man’s word struck me, there are others that better than him by thousands fold? Could they can destroy a mountain with punch? I’m really intrigue.
“So, what are we gonna do to these people?”
“Nothing. We are leaving this place.”
“What? That escalated quickly. You sure about this old man?”
“Yes, I’ve already considered about leaving this place sooner or later ever since you fixed my hand.”
“But why?”
“You know, let’s get inside and I will tell you the whole story.”
“Right…”
We tied them up to a pole, the old man said they wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow morning, so there’s nothing to worried about. I wonder how skilled he is.
After I heard the old man explanation, finally I understood everything.
In this Gaia Continent, there exist a kingdom, it’s called The Kingdom of Zeragon. The other two continents are called Kingdom of Velanor in the Xion Continent, and the last but not the least, Kingdom of Elgia in the Esia Continent.
The three kingdoms are having the same problem, financial crisis. They increased the taxes and force people to pay or live in the streets, which leads to increased the act criminality, which leads to death and famine.
However that was all just a facade, there’s no financial crisis, the government is being greedy. The politicians are corrupt, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, men become demons, women become slaves, kids become thieves, and monsters reign over the world.
This old man has fought in war countless times, he knows what’s happening in the background. The World War XII is still ongoing, even in their dire states, the three kingdoms are still battling each other.
Over a millennium has passed and war hasn’t shown any signs of stopping anytime soon.
Ever since his hand has been fixed, the old man wanted leave this place for good. Duran Village isn’t a good place to live because of the environment and the people isn’t very kind to outsider. Besides, The old man barely surviving in this place, he always wanted to open his own shop, a blacksmith shop but he can’t because of his condition before. Well, not anymore.
“Why in the world you didn’t tell me this in the first place?”
“This is something that even kids know about, it’s so common that I forgot to tell you about it.”
“...”
The old man continued his explanation.
It seems in this world there exist a god, his name is Exodia. What a familiar name.
He was a human at first, but he has reached the highest point of power, granting him a power of a god. He was the first human who introduced us about the magical substance that’s flowing through the whole world, mana, and Soul Essence. That was about hundred million years ago, date was something unknown to them until two millenniums ago.
People called him The One. I guess those guys back in the past really lack creativity.
Magic and Martial Arts, Demons and Angels, Monsters and Ghosts, Kings and Queens… They are exist.
What about my world? There’s no such thing as magic, demons and whatnot. How are these things exist in this world but not mine?
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
The old man’s explanation reminded me of my existence. Who am I? Why did I woke up in this foreign world? Is it really amnesia or…
Did I came here by accident or on purpose? How?
…
Shit, I get sidetracked.
“You see those knights? When they wake up, they will go back to The Capital and put a price tag on our heads. This isn’t weird at all, many innocent people got sentenced to death for a crime they didn’t do.”
The old man sighed and caressed Ann’s head. His face looked solemn.
“Len, I’m sorry.”
“Hmm? What for?”
“Putting you in a difficult situation, from here on out we are going to be hunted. I can’t kill them, because that would make me a true ‘rebel’, but if you really want--”
“Stop, it’s alright. I don’t blame you at all, you gotta do what you gotta do. I understand.”
The old man was dumbfounded by my reply, then he looked relieved.
“I’m not sure this war is going to end in my lifetime. We are going to find an isolated place, where not even monsters can find us, a very safe place to live. It will be lonely, but it’s better than here.”
“I see… old man, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Can you… teach me martial arts?”
This is something that I need to learn if I want to survive in this world, like it or not.
The old man’s eyes widened, he was speechless for a moment and soon it changed into a tender smile.
“Learning martial arts isn’t easy at all you know.”
He said while smirking.
“Oh please, you know better than that.”
A little smile formed on my lips as I said that.
For the past month, I’ve showed him my strength. He was dumbstruck with awe, I can see it on his face. I trust him, he can keep secrets and he’s a good man.
“Haha! Unfortunately, I’m no good at teaching people. However I have something better, come, I will show you.”
I followed him to a shed in the backyard, there’s dust everywhere. Judging from the appearance, it’s been years since someone came in this place.
He told me to wait outside while he searched something in the shed.
After a couple minutes he walked out and handed me a book. There’s no title or anything, it’s just a plain old brown book.
“What’s this?”
“This is the most basic of martial arts, it’s about breathing technique and meditation.”
“... That’s it?”
“Well, what else?”
“I don’t know, maybe anything lethal? Something that I can use when fighting?”
“Err… that… well…”
“You lost the book, didn’t you?”
“Haha! Something like that!”
He laughed while scratching his bald head. This guy is hopeless.
…
Wait, what about Ann? I thought everyone would love to learn martial arts, right?
“What’s wrong, boy?”
I guess he noticed my confused expression.
“What about Annie? She’s not practising this?”
“She…”
The old man suddenly looked solemn, he creased his brow and scratching his beard.
“Is it something you can’t talk about?”
“No, it’s just… Ann, her Soul Core… is crippled.”
Now what the hell is a Soul Core?
“Hold on old man, explain from the beginning, what’s a Soul Core?”
The old man face palmed himself and with a loud sigh, he explained what a Soul Core is to me.
Every living being always have a Soul Core, it’s where Soul Essence is stored. Cultivating Soul Essence has a lot benefit, the capacity will increase and so does the strength, and whatnot. I’ve heard of this before from her.
“So, what do you mean by Annie’s Soul Core is crippled?”
“It means her Soul Core is crippled literally, she can’t use magic or Soul Essence. She is the most ordinary amongst the ordinary people.”
“How so?”
“She was borned as a cripple, that’s all.”
“That’s it? Are you saying her fate was sealed the moment she was born?”
“That’s one way to put it… “
“Is there any way to save her?”
“No, there is none, I’m sure of it. Her Soul Core is crippled, her life span probably… only lasts 20 more years.”
He gritted his teeth and kind of stuttered when he talked. I guess he’s already treated her like his own child, huh?
His eyes looked sad and moist with tears. He wiped it off and just staring off into the distance.
“I see…”
I gave him my thanks and walked inside the house.
I have a lot of free time, I spent it on reading the book. The book itself isn’t thick or thin, only around 40 pages or so. However, I still learned a lot from it.
Breathing technique can make one’s mind crystal clear, higher concentration, and better at meditation. It has a lot benefit for a martial artist, which is literally everyone in this world.
Meditation can clear one’s mind to train and cultivate their Soul Essence. If you are lucky, you can gained an insight about your Soul Weapon.
The old man told me to learn it slowly, for those knights need around 2 weeks to reach The Capital and put prices on our heads, probably.
Why would they do all that complicated stuff? Because the more they caught a ‘rebel’, they would get a reward. The soldiers and knights would try to brand many people as a rebel to get money in this dark age. Lot of innocent people died because of it, I don’t even know what are these people thinking. The system is so messed up like… it was done on purpose. But why…?
I sat cross-legged on the porch, practising the breathing technique.
The air feels so refreshing, so comfortable, everything is so crystal clear. I can hear and sense everything much better than before… I can feel what’s happening around me, every movement, every sound, every single detail of every single thing, may it alive or dead.
Now, the second phase is meditation.
After a couple minutes meditating, I realized everything is so quiet. There’s no sound at all, the only thing that I hear is my own breath. It’s so peaceful, so quiet, so comfortable… I have all the time in the world here.
Suddenly an image popped out. It’s… Ciel.
Ciel was engulfed by my Black Flame and our Soul Essence was fused together.
I remember her hair changed color and her Soul Essence gotten stronger than ever. Ah…
… Ciel was killed by a Demon… I feel sadness and anger boiled up inside me.
Everything is getting blurry, I’m starting to lose my focus… dammit!
Suddenly, Ciel’s face got replaced by Annie… and I woke up.
“Ahh!!”
I screamed without realizing it.
I heard the old man’s footsteps walking toward me.
“What!? What’s happening!?”
He looked around in panic and his eyes fell upon me.
“Oh? You’ve woke up?”
“Yeah… hmm? It’s already evening?”
“No, it’s been three days.”
“Huh?”
I was dumbfounded, I bet my face looked stupid.
Three days has passed? That’s hard to believe, it feels like 3 hours or something.
“If one is so focused on meditating, one can forget the existence of time. Is what my teacher once said, but not everyone can do it you know? You’ve learned it for 4 hours and you already can do this much, I guess you are truly a genius. Huh? Why are you crying?”
Crying? Ah, tears are falling from my eyes and I’m having cold sweat. How…
I wipe my tears and act like nothing happened.
“What cry? I don’t do cry and stop calling me a genius, it makes me cringe. Oh, can you bring Annie here?”
“Sure, but what for?”
“Saving her life.”
His face twitched at my words.
“W-what do you mean saving her life? How?”
His voice is trembling and eyes is filled with hope.
I kinda understand what he feels. That moment when you have a child and she’s sick but you can’t do anything to help her. The only thing you can do is watch and talk with her until she reached the end of the line. It could make any parents cry and heartbroken seeing their own child is about to die and they can’t do anything about it.
“Just bring her here… and don’t forget the omelette too.”
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If you found any grammar mistakes, please do tell. I'm a human after all.