Everyone has a desire or something to Envy, something to keep them pushing onward throughout life to finally achieve.

“Student of Famed Snowblade temple slays notorious twenty-headed hydra, founds new mercenary company.” The boy read through the paper with envy in his eyes and dissatisfaction in his heart.

It is getting harder and harder to get fame and achievements with each passing day

He clenched the paper tightly and tossed it aside, looking out from the balcony of the small open temple, feeling the chilly embrace of the snow outside brush against his puffy black robe. For a moment, the feeling of dissatisfaction in him matched the chilly cold of the snow.

“Disciple Kayd” The familiar voice of his master grabbed his attention, turning around instantly to see him.

“Master Carwel, I- I was just reading more on techniques and strategies.” Kayd hastily thought up, kicking away the paper as the master started approaching him.

“I hope you have finished your morning combat drills, and well done on the last hunt we took part in.” The master spoke again in a dry and weak voice, but in his words, decades of experience and wisdom were held.

“I just wanted to read the few remaining books of the temple library,” Kayd replied in a hasty tone, wanting to leave and not let his master see him in such an envious and disgusted mood. But alas, he caught on.

“News regarding Disciple Laurel,” He bent down to grab the crumpled paper. “Another achievement from one of my pupils.” He smiled for a moment and let out a quick chuckle.

Seeing his master happy for the accomplishment of another one of his classmates filled Kayd with a familiar and numbing feeling of depression and jealousy.

Master Carwel walked back, passing by the empty mats of his past pupils. Only one was still in use, Kayd’s mat. 

A pile of trinkets, maps, and trophies from countless skirmishes lay on Kayd’s mat. For a moment, he felt his envy vanish until he looked up at the wall and felt it return once more.

In front of the rows of mats was a wall covered in hundreds of different relics. From papers to heads of beasts and even relics from warriors and monsters they have felled, gifted to Master Carwel as tribute by his classmates, dwarfing what Kayd had.

At this point, everyone I studied with is probably some warlord or hero of a random town or city. My options for fame and glory are barely existent anymore…

Kayd sighed in frustration, catching the attention of the master who just posted the paper on the wall.

“Sit down Kayd, have some tea with me.” He ordered, already pouring two cups for both of them on a small table nearby. 

Kayd knelt on the opposite side of the table, grabbing the teacup and hoping it could soothe his mind and make him forget about what he saw, even for a moment. Below him, he could faintly see the corner of a board game, mostly hidden by the tablecloth.

He turned back to the mats, remembering each student who was once there, accomplishing one unique feat during and after their departure from the temple once the basic and advanced teachings were over. 

“Every week I would receive news of a Snowblade disciple. Normally detailing a major victory against something on this world like a beast or a random cult.” Master Carwel glanced out of the temple, seeing the endless valleys of white, visualizing a distant city where his pupils could be right now.

“Unlike all of them, however, you wished to stay and continue learning every ounce of knowledge here. From tactics to combat. Why did you not depart with them two years ago?” He sipped from his cup, eagerly awaiting an answer from Kayd.

Kayd looked down, realizing once more the futility of his situation, his desire to gain a unique feat and title in this world, to gain the praise of others, and to at least be as great as his classmates, and especially his master. To become a remembered disciple of the famed Master Carwel. 

But his classmates' greater knowledge and strength forced him to continue learning and improving in the temple rather than setting out with them to the outside world, hoping he could beat them in that aspect. 

But now, none of that means anything as he is left by himself while his classmates are now heroes in different parts of the world.

“I….I wanted to gain glory in this world…And to do so…. I thought I needed to learn everything that Master Carwel and the Snowblade Temple had..” Kayd explained, trying to hold back his growing sadness.

Master Carwel drank his tea, understanding Kayd’s situation quickly and taking out his scabbard.

“As time flowed on, a quest for fame became tougher and the chances lowered. And to one-up your classmates, you became an erudite.” He finished drinking from his tea and unsheathed his blade, only showing the first few inches of it, glancing at the engraved symbols on it.

“The pursuit of glory is a central goal of the snowblade temple, and of its disciples. Not only to immortalize the Snowblades and myself. But to uphold our teachings, it must continue, even after my time comes.” Right on cue, Master Carwel coughed hoarsely.

He pulled the blade away from the scabbard and softly placed it on the table in front of Kayd, showing him the engravings on it.

“Each symbol shows a trait a disciple of Snowblade shall have. Do you remember what they are?” He asked in a calm tone. Kayd unsheathed his blade, seeing the same engravings on it and recalling their meanings immediately.

“Knowledge, Elation, Passion, Pursuit, Permanence, and the endless pursuit of glory.” Master Carwel nodded his head, satisfied, and put back the blade into the sheathe. He stood up, motioning for Kayd to follow him.

The two started to walk by the wall of endless relics and papers, all from his classmates. The master looked at each one with a prideful expression. 

“Each student who can handle the challenges of the Snowblade temple is guaranteed a permanent spot in the history of this world. But unfortunately for you, it seems unlikely now, understandable.” He coughed loudly once more.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“As my final disciple, I will bestow you a gift none in the clan have ever attained, a reward for your devotion, erudition, and extreme loyalty to the Snowblade clan, a quality I rarely if ever saw in the others.” He smiled, warming up Kayd’s heart. As he walked ahead, he touched a panel on the wall.

With a firm push, the panel extended outwards from the wall like a cabinet drawer. Inside was a shiny rolled-up scroll, unharmed by the passage of time and pristine in appearance. 

“There lies a world beyond here, where your desire for glory and knowledge may be better suited. A world with barely any competition from others.” Kayd was confused by what Master Carwel had just said, but he was already interested.

He unrolled the scroll in a second, walking towards the center of the temple and setting it down. Kayd noticed that the words on the scroll were in a different language, seemingly a language of the past, forgotten through time.

“There was once another realm, meant to be an afterlife, until the mages of old managed to make it passable for everyone. Until it was sealed one day.” He traced his hands on the words in the scroll, and after a few seconds, it began to glow purple. 

“The mages managed to recreate the ritual and implanted them on a set of scrolls. This is one of the few that remain.” Master Carwel started to mutter to himself, able to read the scroll’s language.

The mats around him started to float, he raised his hands to both sides, his eyes now glowing purple and shouting out incomprehensible speech with all the strength he still had.

A powerful gust of wind sent the mats and pile of trinkets across the temple, falling off or scattering to the floor before hovering once more. Kayd couldn’t understand what was going on, and looking down, his confusion grew.

His body started to emit purple fire, but he did not feel pain, rather he felt calm.

What is going on!?

“Calm down Kayd, now hold tightly to your sword and walk closer to me.” The Master ordered.

Behind his master, Kayd looked around him. A feeling of hopefulness, bliss, and joy began to overwhelm Kayd’s mind, feeling his sadness start to vanish in seconds.

“One feat none have ever achieved in the clan was finally entering this unknown world. In fact, you are the only one of the many batches I have taught.” Strong gusts of wind struck the temple repeatedly from all directions, following a rhythm like a heartbeat and causing the floating trinkets and mats to move back and forth violently.

The wall of trophies and papers started to shake from the wind, tossing and turning violently.

Master Carwel continued chanting, his voice rising to a crescendo. The wind started to pick up with his voice, becoming stronger.

Kayd started to tumble around, almost getting taken away by the wind. He stabbed into the ground to anchor himself.

What is this? Is he going to blow up the temple now or something!?

Suddenly, Kayd’s body flew up. In fear he gripped the handle of his sword, hanging on for dear life as the wind now began to move the mats and trinkets around in a circle above them.

Master Carwel looked up in the middle of his chanting, ready to finish the final step of the ritual.

“Farewell Disciple Kayd. And thank you for serving the Snowblade Clan diligently.” As the words left his mouth, all went black.

The loud noise of the wind and creaking temple, the sight of the bizarre act that just happened in front of him, were all replaced by a black silent void.

What the, where am I? Is this the new realm he spoke of?

His body felt cold, his mind was numb. He couldn’t even feel his arms or legs.

A child of envy? A rare sight these days

A loud female voice echoed through the void with an interested tone. Kayd tried to talk, but he couldn’t move his mouth.

Who are you? And why can’t I move!?

A loud laugh responded to his question.

Calm down, it will be over soon

After the voice spoke, a yellow glowing square appeared in front of Kayd, blinding him for a moment.

In a few seconds, the glow died down, becoming readable to Kayd.

New Soul brought forth!

Name: Kayd

Relation: Snowblade Clan and Master Carwel

Class: Swordsman and Erudite

Destination: Outskirts of Forela

Kill count: 400+

Skills: None

Spells: None

Titles: None

Objective: Survive and to Prosper

Best of luck Disciple Kayd, and may you seek the glory and fame that you were denied.

Once his eyes registered the last words on the square, it vanished. 

No accomplishments and no skills….Is it mocking me?! Well, it isn’t wrong on the accomplishment part….

Just before Kayd could wallow once more in self-pity, he heard echoes. Echoes of a woman’s voice.

“Hey, wake up Greenhorn.” It called out.

After a few seconds, Kayd opened his eyes, realizing he was dreaming. He looked around, only seeing trees and distant mountains. The sun beat down on him as he realized he was on a dirt road.

What did he just see?

That list read out like something from Master Carwel’s games.

The sudden thought of his master brought some calm to his worrying mind, but it was all interrupted after the same voice spoke to him.

“On your feet lad, you can’t just appear from nowhere and look dead!” The voice called out from behind, a young woman’s voice with a gruff tone.

Turning around, he saw a woman clad in unfamiliar heavy leather clothes covering every inch of her body, only leaving her face visible. Kayd quickly noticed that the woman had thick curly black and grey hair reaching to her lower back, her face was covered in countless scars, and on her hip was a hatchet.

Next to her was what appeared to be a giant shell with a small wooden structure on top of it. A pile of treasure and other items lay below it, resting comfortably on the shell.

“Come on Greenhorn, stop dozing off. Slumber without protection gets people killed.”