As I walk the cool breeze rubs my face leaving bumps along my body. I decide I’m going to walk to the cave, my muscles still being slightly sore but less so than it has been in a while, maybe or i'm getting used to it or possibly stronger I think. But maybe this means I will need to work harder, if i'm wanting to get stronger than I need to surpass the limits that my body thinks it has. I continue on into the woods keeping my eyes on watch, more than I usually would, but then I think what would be more important. Watching the forest or reading the journal, I decide that there is plenty of time to stumble upon another deesh later, and that there is still plenty of meat that mother cooked up for us to have for the next few meals. So I open up the smallish book to the next page

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Today is a fresh day and I am ready to become the greatest. Father says he is preparing a surprise for me. I really hope that it is going to be a true sword or some type of weapon or skill but it will probably be some book on how to buy and sell. It really frustrates me why father doesn't let me follow in his steps or my brothers, just because i'm smaller. I have shown him time and time again my dedication to what I want to do. Ever since my mother has died father hasn't been the same. I feel if she was alive hed let me do as I please but since i'm his last reminder of what his first love was. Again i'm going to go outside the tavern down by the port to here more information after training. Hopefully today something valuable will be spoken not ignorant thoughts about the woman serving the drinks.

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Since it's not as long as the other pages I have I go ahead and read another but it basically like the last tells of his training and that he is really wanting to see if he can find something of actual consequence. As I finish I arrive to my destination. I look over to the tree and see the sight of Wade sitting under the tree. Well more the uprising that is his grave. I make my way to the giant sword, and prepare myself physically and mentally, I start doing stretches as if I were going to go and start doing work in the field in the end it be a shame to die with a hurt back in the woods.

I walk to the blade that is roughly about 5 feet including all, I begin to try to pick it up with great stress but I definitely start to pick it up. The burning in my muscle that I am so used to comes back to play, but at this point in having felt it for the past couple days it’s more like seeing the face of an old friend, that really doesn't like you and wants you to hurt. As a bead of sweat hits the floor I drop it. I didn't manage to get it far off the ground. I wasn't even able to get it completely above my head. The thought enters my mind, the object is definitely large no one would doubt that, and it even has the thickness to match but how does it still way so much. The weight of the stump is much less but the size of it even stretches my arms to the max to wrap around them completely. “Thats crazy” I wonder what it is made of. As I continue to play the pull up game with the large sword I think about when the right time will be to enter the dungeon. I'd have to be able to swing the sword easily enough to use and I would probably need to read the journal to gather the information that lies in there, or more likely the angst and father issues wade has.

I continue working out my body doing various things like running, throwing some of the other spears that the goblins had. I also cleaned out the room towards the dungeon so now there was just a pile of bones in one of the corners. After I was nice and sore and thought I had trained good for the day I began on the walk back to home with the light setting in the horizon. As I carry a spear, I walk the beginning of a trail that i'm learning better and better as the day goes on. I keep my eyes peeled for the movements in the bushes, the canopy and anything that moves. I also think it is extremely paranoid of myself and if anything I need to let it come to me.

In the end I make it home not seeing anything large enough I could feel confident in throwing a spear at, I couldn't imagine throwing a spear at a squirrel or something like a bird. I walk in and eat with my family. At this point I think they have given up on trying to say that i'm not supposed to be in the forest to get lost or what time I get back by. We have more of the deesh and bread for dinner. It's not the best but it fills me up and will provide me with good sustenance for tomorrow. I wish my parents a good sleep and go to take my place in the abyss. Due to the extremity of the workout I had done today it comes quickly thankfully

For the next couple days I continued doing the similar things, each day growing in progress to fight and bring my body to better shape. I continue to eat more and more from what my mother keeps telling me and I need to go back to how I was before, but she only jests. Winter slowly approaches bringing more and more of her cold. I imagine in another couple weeks there is going to be snow on the ground it's almost to that time. It's gonna be a pain training in the snow and extreme cold. I can more or less pick up the sword so I i have now brought it closer to the house. I keep it hidden in the back of the shed as to hide it from father or mother. It was a struggle bringing it all the way but with enough time and a couple of stops to put strength back in the noodles that are attached to my shoulders. Mother says i'm changing but when I asked what she meant, she didn't specify she just said I have an air about me now that has another's presence. I have no idea what this means. Most likely because she doesn't see a ton of me any more due to me being busy. Ive continued to read here and there in the journal but he still keeps saying random stuff about how he is jealous of his brother, him training to the extreme, his father, and the vague mentioning of wanting to go to a dungeon but I really wish he would just say what one is or at least describe it more, but I guess that would be too easy. Like why would someone write something they know down in a journal if to them it's simple and that they have known for a while. Luckily mother and father haven’t seen me reading or at least they haven’t brought up it even if they did I doubt they would really care to much.

There was a couple interesting things I learned from the journal, apparently the king is called “King Starkeisen “, I learned this because apparently Wade’s father had started Wade on his financial and social tutoring much to his dismay. This apparently meant that his father was still going to want him to be the more intellectual and financial side of the family. I found it interesting that the full name continues down for the king where Wade lived, so his official name was “Jack Starkeisen the 4th”. I wonder if we are from the same kingdom, but then again I don't even know how far the capital is or where it is located. It seems that monsters are a lot more common cause apparently Wade found a goblin cave way off of his estate and had begun his own personal extermination, usually his father, if he had found out would either send out a quest to the kingdom or send his brothers or sons based on the severity, but wade hasn't seen his brothers in a while. This is also said to be a great test to see how strong he is getting. But seeing as how there is around like 15 more pages left in the journal id would be very surprised if the cave where he had died is in fact a part of the estate that is of the bernhardt, which was my initial thought.

As we are all sitting at the table eating breakfast there comes a knock on the door. “Jord could you be a dear and go answer it” mother asks. I quickly get up and say “of course mother”. I walk and open the door only to see what is are closest neighbors,the flanzens, or rather two of them there daughter Cynthia and the father Dan. “How’s it going jord do you care if we come in” dan asks. “I don't see why not, is there something you need” I ask. “Jord where are your manners, please get out of the cold” my mother says in a voice louder than hers usually is but not to the point where she is yelling. “Thanks very much Diane, it's been awhile since we have talked.” dan says to mother and father. My dad agrees and asks “ is there something you need, dan”. “ well we were wanting to know if we could have jord here help with bringing in some of the crops we have kind of gotten to a late start and I feel like if I don't get them all in by today they will most likely be ruined if they have not already been.” dan says not looking anyone in there eyes, he must know that it is his fault. Father looks at me and asks if I have any plans today, I was only planning on training some more so I say ”No I was just planning on going into the woods as always but I can help if you need it.” Dan seems quite enthused and says “ Great now if you want we can go back and start when you're done here”. I quickly finish eating and answer “ I am finished let us go do this quickly” I grab some layers of cloth to dampen the effect that the cold will have on me as I walk out the door.

As we walk more and more off our land and towards the Flanzens land, I keep thinking about how much they hopefully have done, i've heard stories from father about how Dan Flanzen was not the most hard working man in the small village, but that he was still a decent guy. Apparently Flanzen was one of the few people who had supported mother leaving and going to try to become a merchant, sadly she never was able to start it up. If I remember right cynthia has a younger brother, I think his name is chick maybe. I’m surprised that they still have not been able to finish reaping the rest with the excess help from two more hands. Cynthia and Dan begin talking about something but due to them being ahead of me slightly and them talking in lower voices I can't hear what they are saying. I just continue thinking about my training.

I'm broken from my trance like thinking when Cynthia finishes talking to her father and asks me “Where did you get that satchel it looks like it is really well made even though it seems pretty old”. I decide to use the same lie that I have been for my parents just to keep the story straight and tell them “ I found it in the woods the other day it was just next to a tree and I just came upon it, i'm pretty lucky it was in the condition it is now”. We keep walking Cynthia continues to ask me about the woods it seems that her parents don't let her or her younger brother in them at all. “I don't know what you want me to say there is lots of trees and small animals, and every now and then you see or find something cool” I say, she seems oddly dissatisfied with my answer. We keep taking about various things ranging from food we’ve eaten recently to gossip around the village that for some reason or another she feels she needs to tell me.

Her father luckily cuts in just in time and says “ well it looks like we are here now are you ready to work now jord”. I respond “ Sir i'm always ready to work as you could've seen by my father's fields”. He takes the light jab in jest and we continue along with beginning work in the fields.

Of course I had hopes for there just to be a little more than what he could handle for a single day to be left, but of course it had seemed that instead of there being that it seemed he had a large amount left more than me and father could do in a single day. But luckily it seems that the entire Flanzen family was out and ready to work today. If they had been doing that originally and slightly more I imagine I wouldn't have been needed.

Before I knew it, it was damn near dark and we had barely finished, if it weren't for the fact that it was infinitely easier to swing the scythe now and through more than I could before we probably wouldn't of got done in time. Also the ability to carry a smaller group in for them to process tomorrow was greatly valued. It seemed if for nothing else my physical training had been useful for something other than carrying large stumps or lifting a sword.

As I am about to walk off the Flanzens land they invite me in for dinner I try to say that ” there will be dinner waiting for me at home” but they counter with the motherly saying I hear so often from my own mother whenever the rare occurrence of a visitor graces Us “Oh please how could we not reward you for helping us. If my husband had been a little more diligent out in those fields we wouldn't of had to burden you like this“ as true as this is I lie and say that he had done the most work today. Which was a long shot from being true, the order for who did the most work was definitely me, Cynthia, a tie between Cack and the patriarch himself Dan and then the mother who the only reason she wasn't in that tie was because she left early to go prepare food for all of us. The mother being a lot more forceful this time orders me to get a seat before she tells my mother, as she laughs she head back into the smaller cooking room. As if she had already won and was ready to bring it out. I sadly take a seat and prepare to eat and be sent home as fast as I can. So I will be able to get some amount of training in.

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As we eat the nice freshly made bread and combo that is corn and mystery meat soup. The mother and father talk about how they were young and the silly things that they did along with what my father and mother had done also. “Yeah did your father tell you about how he left to become an adventurer, jord” this instantly breaks me out of my train of thought. I've never heard of anything like this. “Um no I haven't what happened, it doesn't seem like he succeed.” I ask. “No no he failed pretty horribly but apparently he got far” the mother say. Dan begins saying” yeah apparently he went to the capital many years ago and on the way back he apparently got attacked by a bunch of bandits in the woods, yeah luckily when a travelling merchant was on the way he stopped by and took him back here and was nursed by your mother, that’s partly where your mother had stopped going for beginning a merchant”. As this sinks in it just utterly shocks me, my father seems as if he has the perfect life and is never not happy. Realizing I haven’t said anything for a minute I quickly say “Wow that's surprising I would have never guessed my father to do something like that”. We continue eating while they all talk about various things I kinda zone it out as I think deeper about my parents. Like I heard about my mother but never my father I wonder why. I imagine that if I were to bring it up about me wanting to do what he previously had there would be a lot of hesitation and not wanting me to do it. If not just straight forbidding me to do it.

Eventually we finish dinner and I begin on the way back home. It's kind of dark but I still decide to run fully home to test and work out more slightly, to build my body more, though it may be good to go lesser today to allow myself to regenerate all the stress in the muscles. As I run back with the moonlight helping to guide my path I arrive at my house a lot quicker but a lot more out of breath. As I pant and pant, devouring the air, I slowly walk towards the shed to pull out the sword. I begin to exercise swinging it around, pretending to bring the large object down upon someone or something. The longer I do this the more darker it gets to the point where the moonlight isn't enough to help, and the sweat accompanying me has soaked my shirt I throw off a layer as I feel all the heat start to get to me and I continue to train. This time I just swing and practice light movements or trying to still be nimble carrying something that most likely weighs near half if not more of my weight. The burden known as sleep and energy deprivation hit me as my muscles beg for the mercy of sleep. I decide that I won't go further as I have been usually and I go set and cover the sword in the shed and then take my place in bed. It's not more than a couple moments before I feel the darkness and peacefulness take over, allowing me to relax.

I wake up in the morning to a bright ray of light hitting my face, as if the sun wanted me to wake up on purpose. I feel well enough rested to begin my day, I walk into my parents room to see them still sleeping which is a pretty uncommon sight for the previous week or so. There must be nothing to really get done today. I make myself some breakfast it isn't nearly as good as mother makes or even the mother of the Flanzens I imagine, but it does the trick and sedates my stomach. I start reading the next page in the journal there only around 10 or so left it seems, so it should be coming up on how or hopefully why I found him in the cave.

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It seems that my uncle jimboy had died today or rather we had just found out he had, I just got done training a little bit and came in for lunch only to see father with a messenger. He then quickly read it and started yelling and went to get a drink of some alcohol. I quickly followed him to see what had caused the sudden change in mood, that's where he told me as he half drank and half cried. It wasn't until recently that I first had seen father cry. I was told he cried each time his sons were born, when he found out charles was talented in magic, and maybe one or two other times I forgot. But other than that, none, up until my mother had died, he seemed fine when he would be doing something but it wouldn't even be strange to see him suddenly burst into tears. But now that jimboy had died he just kept repeating the phrase “I told him to stop he was getting old, no one would blame him, he tried his hardest I was just more lucky, but no, of course he wanted his own”. Father apparently thinks it's his fault that he was not able to convince his younger brother to quit exploring and looking for trouble. Father is about 86 I think and it seems he has roughly 40 - 50 more years left but jimboy was only 65, he had been the youngest in the family of his generation and was always expected to live up to his brothers and sister who had proudly rose the prominence of the name of Bernhardt. I was deeply saddened by this news myself, out of all the rest of the family him and mother have been the only ones to keep pushing me on the path that I wanted. Father desperately doesn't want me to pursue this and my uncle and mother the only ones who supported this is dead.

No I must do they always told me to keep going, to believe in myself, no matter the cost. I feel like jimboy would have wanted me to keep going even after his death. He probably died smiling facing a monster or going into a dungeon, living his life to the fullest. That's how I want to die, or you know after I live a full life have kids and die on the battlefield protecting those who matter. There still hasn't been any information gathered from the tavern, but I feel like with all this bad news something good is likely to come it's almost been a year since I started this and I think father was right writing your thought and motives makes it clear and gives you straight path to follow to get what you want.

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After reading another page which just summarized the funeral being held for his uncle a couple weeks after the previous journal entry I though he did it almost every day but it seems he does it when he feels like something is actually happening or going on. It honestly could be just when he feels like it though. It seems he doesn't get to train as much as he wants to due to having to learn about the financial and social structures of the world. I really wish I could have a couple lessons on the world. I feel like there still is a ton I don't know about the world. For example he mentioned another word that I have never heard of. That being alcohol. It seems like it is a type of drink I guess it probably tastes good due to him drinking it in a time of sorrow. I think i'm going to go enter the dungeon soon who knows if i'm really ready but I feel like I can do what it takes or learn in thre some of what I need to know. Before I do that I want to be able to take some of the extra food that we harvested this year so that once I am in inside i'll be able to have rations, in case there isn't food in there that is aplenty.

I continue training with the sword slightly farer away from the house so mother and father don't stumble on me with some giant sword. Swinging it around like some type of crazy person. I've begun slicing and trying to cut things for example low hanging branches and the stumps that are abundant around. It seems as long as I bring it up into the air the force of it falling down is usually strong enough to cut or break anything that it is in the way. It only took about 8 swings to take down a tree a little more thicker than I am waist wise, that's a good way to work out I learned. Bringing it through the air sideways is the hardest in my opinion.I'm starting to get the hang of actually swinging it. The only problem is swinging it down and picking it up quickly as in to do another slice. Also doing the action in quick succession kills all of tbe energy and strength in my arms. Speaking of my arms there has been a large change in the size they are starting on here way to getting a lot thicker. My body is also along the way but in a much smaller impact there hasn't been a huge strain on my legs and core of my body, so it's safe to say there change will be a lot lesser so far.

The rest of that day and the next followed a similar pattern except for having to help rebuild the outside of the storage shed, which took up my reading time, I still ended with eating and training. The question at this point in my mind is not if I should go into the dungeon but when. I feel like the earliest im wanting to go in is if I finish the journal and have enough rations, at this point i'm near comfortable using the sword for a little while, and my body's the best it's been in years. I just need to suck the last bits of information from the journal to see if there is any unknown danger to expect that Wade knew about. The sense of exploration is burning inside of me, I can't wait to see what possibly could be unseen to people. I wonder how dungeons are even formed, or if there is even a purpose to them. Like wade said there is the fact that if you conquer one you can get a power or skill but I wonder cause all the ones Wade knew were hearsay. Either way I feel like i'm near ready. I go to sleep allowing the comfort to relax my sore and sad body.

I wake up to mother telling me that she has made food which instantly gives me the motivation to go get some. As I eat I ask father “is there anything that needs to be done today” to which he quickly says “nope we're pretty good for now, take the day to yourself”. I then start to plan what the agenda is for today as I eat the food, I think i'm going to train and read some more. As I finish and go to stand up my leg starts hurting massively along with my arm. They just keep pretending like they're doing a large amount of work. Father quickly sees me in pain flexing on the ground and asks”what's wrong wade are you ok”. I yell back that “ I dont know whats wrong all my muscles are on fire and in immense pain”. Father has a look of intense thought which after a few seconds clears and he says “do not worry it seems that you have been doing far too much work and putting large amounts of stress upon your body and because of that they are cramping and not gonna work properly for today so I recommend you just lay down and let them rest for the next day or so and it will be back to better in no time”. My body is still in pain, but on the inside all the mental pain that was on it started going away. I was afraid that I was not going to be the same that this pain was going to be with me forever. With the help from father and mother they picked me up and laid me in bed so that I would be able to rest for the day. Since I can't train my body I might as well read up on the journal and see if he talks about what lies ahead for the first part of my journey.

So after getting comfortable in bed I pull the book out of the satchel and begin to read.

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I’m so happy today apparently one of my cousin was in a that had conquered a dungeon. He said he didn’t do anything to crazy to help he was more of there for of a quick witted way to help in traps and puzzles. But he still told me that it was crazy apparently every dungeon is usually completely different and can be based on anything. Like the one he has been in was where they are usually found in, a mountain, it provides a good place for the monsters to come out of or be birthed from. He said in a book he read on dungeons that said a dungeon can spawn anywhere like even in a city, which has only happened 2 times from what we know. He was going to tell me a lot more too but father took him away saying he shouldn't be spreading those fantasies to me, and saying they had important work to do. I really wish I could of talked for another hour I would have been able to know so much. But I guess what’s the fun in knowing everything.

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So he said some stuff about dungeons but nothing super important to me other than that they spawned monsters which I don’t think the one in the cave has for quite a while. I wonder what all he did in there and he didn’t even say what power he got, how did wade not ask the important questions. I flip to the next page and begin reading again. There seems to be around 10 or so pages left.

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Today I found out that father had pulled some strings and was able to send away my elder cousin to a dungeon that has not been explored yet. Which is very good and exciting from him but who am I supposed to ask for advice now. I decided to go to the library one of the places I choose to spend the least amount of time. I start to look for books about dungeons but it seems that there aren’t any left that father hadn’t taken for its use or possibly another family member. In the evening father came and saw me reading and looking through various books and told me he has some news for me tomorrow and that I should get some sleep. I knew it didn’t sound like a command but it was and it would be better to listen as it was already late.

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I eagerly continue onto the next page.

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Date 383rd year of the reign of starkeisen early spring

Father was right today was a big day it probably was one of the most frustrating days in my life. I was awoken to father barging in and telling me to get ready within 20 minutes and left. I cleaned myself and went to father, he asked me to sit down. He then pulls out a packet of papers and tosses them to me saying “surprise“. The first thing that stands out is the insignia in the center of the paper, it is the “the academy of financial and social power” mark. Anger, so much anger started to spread father had went and used some of his power to get me into this school. I don’t even know how he had gotten enough power or strings to pull to get me in. I continued to read and apparently in a year I’m going to be leaving to begin my school experience. I have no idea what to say. I damn near start yelling and cursing and destroying the room but I know that won’t help I take the Papers and leave the room. I go to bed fearing how if I go my life will be just sitting in my house and going to balls and doing other rich ignorant stuff for the rest of my life. I couldn’t handle that. So I grabbed a couple swords some supplies and I left.

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