The dreadful sound of flowing blood echoed in the calmness of the battlefield. Kai’s hands trembled lightly, his pupils flickering wildly as the thick stench of iron entered his nostrils. His chest heaved as his breathing became irregular and heavy.
Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck as a burning sensation grew in his throat, and a chilly shiver ran down his spine as hot blood rushed through his veins. He stumbled slightly, barely able to support himself on the hilt of his sword. His hand flew to his chest accompanied by the fluttering of his cloak as he gripped tightly on the thin piece of fabric.
What’s going on? How did he die…? and behind me another…. another one? Was I about to…? Again?
His mouth let out a retching sound, and stomach acid and pieces of meat fell on the bloody ground. Onyx’s head snapped at Kai and rushed towards him like the wind, his ears bent backward and he lowered his head while he brushed it against Kai’s face while yelping.
“I’m fine, boy… I’m just not used to it…” His fingers caressed Onyx’s huge, fluffy, and soft head before spitting out the last bit of vomit and wiping his mouth, a sour after-taste, like that of a sugary lemon left in his mouth. His eyes lowered slightly, observing the corpses of the two bandits. He looked around, his sharp eyes scanning the cover of the shadowy forest. His eyes widened along with his pupils as he looked for the one who had killed- saved him.
The eyes of the captain of the green armored guards stood wide open, his mouth agape as he tried to say something. Did that kid just save us? And that creature… an Obborik!
His eyes inspected the battlefield, observing the shocked and dirty bandits. A silent clunking resounded from his armor while he tightened his grip on the sword. Regardless… we can’t let these sly bastards escape!
He closed his mouth and cleared his throat. A swishing sound rang in his ears as pointed his emerald blade forward. After puffing his chest he commanded in an imposing tone “Men, finish them!”
The guards snapped from their trance and they tightened their grip on their swords in response to the captain’s order. “Captain,” one of the guards standing to his right said, “What about the wounded? Should we take them prisoner or leave them to die?”
The captain scratched his chin for a moment before speaking “Take them prisoner if you can but don’t risk your life, we don’t want any more casualties.”
A resounding “Yes, sir!” vibrated in the air along with their armor. The three dozen men marched in unison. Their footsteps overlapped perfectly, giving the illusion of a single person stepping heavily as their boots made the ground shudder.
The bandits were stricken with fear, their bodies shivered, and immediately gave up on attacking after seeing their leaders die in such a grotesque way. Bushes and grass got trampled over as they fled under the cover of the forest, the guards killing or capturing any that were too slow.
Farther away, a huge dark figure observed the scene with a frown. God damn fool, losing to a brat, will put our plan behind… Assh All won’t be happy. His black and empty eyes snapped to Kai, who was approaching the forest. This brat has some kind of weird aura around him, and that aura of a Five Star mage protecting him… he wouldn’t be easy to kill.
…
Leaves and grass rustled under Kai’s feet as he stepped into the forest. This wasn’t The Dark Forest, the trees and vegetation weren’t nearly as big and the area was quite poor in mana by comparison, he tip-toed carefully to not step on any branches as his keen gaze checked every tree and bush. Good thing I told Onyx to stay behind, he’d stick out like a sore thumb… he thought and let out a slight chuckle at the image of Onyx in this ‘small’ forest.
The hairs on his neck tensed up all of a sudden and his pupils constricted.
Woosh
He snapped his head to the side, the air next to him splitting in two as an arrow dashed past his ear. What was that? His cloak fluttered as he turned around. Clenching his hands on the sword’s handle, rays of light reflected on its violet blade.
His eyes jumped from bush to bush, looking for any place that the attacker could hide in. A golden light flashed in the corner of his eye. A sharp swish resounded in the silent forest as he rotated to face the source.
Kai’s body contracted and he swiftly took a step to the side, a whistling sound dashing past his face accompanied by a strong gust of wind that blew back his hood, slightly revealing his crimson eyes. Got you! He immediately dashed towards the location of the archer, wind whistling in his ears as he pushed his body to the limit.
The bush the archer was hiding in rustled softly and his figure slowly appeared. He wore a simple smile on his face, light bouncing off the ocean blue color of his eyes and his golden cuirass and leggings covered his clothes sewn with golden thread.
Kai appeared to his side right when he got up, the violet blade rubbing against the archer’s neck. “You got me, you got me… hehe.” He laughed weakly while raising his arms. “You can put your sword down, I’m not going to attack you, I just wanted to test you…”
Kai’s sword chirped silently as he applied more pressure, fresh blood dripping down its blade. He looked up at his attacker, who was two heads taller than he was. Their eyes clashed, an illusory roar of two dragons echoing silently in the darkness.“Why should I trust you?”
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“Because…” the archer said slowly before his figure blurred, his short, blonde hair fluttering slightly after reappearing behind Kai. “If I wanted to, you wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of me…” Kai’s pupils constricted for a bit before smiling faintly and quickly murmuring an Intus spell. His figure disappeared soundlessly and he reappeared behind the archer as he placed his sword on the golden shoulder-guard.
“Two can play at this, and you don’t have to be so dramatic, we’re the only ones here…” This time it was the archer’s turn to be surprised but a faint smile also manifested on his face. The two young men stood in silence for a second before their shoulders shook as they tried to suppress their laughter.
Their attempt failed, however. The archer’s armor rattled loudly as the two of them burst into laughter at the same time. Their joyfulness continued for one more minute before it slowly died down. Kai wiped the small amount of blood from his blade before sheathing it into his ragged scabbard.
The archer turned towards Kai with a wide smile on his face.
His blue eyes sparkled as he looked at the tiny hooded figure before him. “I’m Léandro, twelve years old, how about you?” he asked while extending his hand for a handshake.
Kai shook Léandro’s hand and smiled faintly under his hood. This guy… I like him! He thought to himself before replying “I’m Kai, ten years old.”
Léandro’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing the response. Huh? This little guy fought almost equally with a Rank Three Core? His swordsmanship is trash so what gives? he pondered as he tried to understand what was so special about Kai.
His blue eyes lit up in a faint golden color as he inspected Kai’s body. Foam seemed to appear in his mouth as his left eye started twitching uncontrollably. He doesn’t even have a body core! But he can use magic, is he a mage? A mage with a sword and such feeble amounts of mana? I…He also seems to be wounded, and showing off his speed only served to deepen his wounds…
The young man seemed to have encountered some kind of anomaly and his pupils widened in confusion.
Kai noticed Léandro’s expression and he felt confused as well. Did I say something weird? I guess it’s rare to see a ten-year-old kid running around with a sword?
The cricketing of insects and the chirping of birds filled the awkward silence. “So…” Kai spoke up first, in an attempt to wake Léandro up from his trance. “First of all, thank you for saving my ass back then, and secondly… what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Excuse me?” Léandro snapped at Kai “And you’re welcome. What do you mean, what the fuck is wrong with me?”
“You shot at me!” Kai snapped back at the archer with a slightly raised voice. Léandro frowned slightly upon hearing the statement “Oh I’m sorry I shot at a hooded figure sneaking around.” he replied sarcastically.
“So you just shoot at any random person walking through the forest.” Kai objected to the illogical statement.
“Given the context of the previous situation, yes? Did you see how many bandits were there? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you attack every gang of bandits you meet on the road with an oversized wolf?” Léandro retorted angrily.
“Huuuuh? What do you mean oversized? Onyx is a perfectly fine size!” Kai shouted, feeling that Onyx was wronged. Léandro’s eyes turned blank as he looked at Kai with bewilderment.
No, why is that the focus of the argument?
“Ah, forget it. It’s clear you're an idiot.” He said as he waved his hand in front of Kai “You actually went and attacked them with such sloppy swordsmanship.”
Kai’s head lowered, his pupils trembling under the large hood.
Sloppy? Did he just call Grandpa’s technique sloppy?
Léandro gulped, feeling as if he said something he shouldn’t have, but he decided to stick to his guns. “Look, I haven’t seen that kind of swordsmanship in my life but it’s definitely inferior to what a normal soldier has…, if you want better sword techniques you can go join the Imperial army or find one somewhere. I heard Lustra was founded by a swordsman so maybe go search the ruins there…”
Kai raised an eyebrow upon hearing the name “You mean the city overrun by goblins?” he asked Léandro who began scratching the back of his head
“No, the city overrun by gobelins…”
“What’s the difference?” Kai asked, thinking that Julie simply couldn’t pronounce the word ‘goblin’.
“Well, goblins don’t exist, I didn’t even know that was a word until now. Léandro replied while shaking his head. He doesn’t have any magic… and he’s stupid as well?
Kai’s eyes fell in contemplation, ignoring whether they were goblins or gobelins for now. I had no idea Lustra had that kind of history, and as much as I hate to admit it… I was about to die against that bandit, maybe I should go take a look… he slumped his shoulders at the thought. “I see, thanks for the heads-up, I will check it out later.”
Léandro stood in silence for a while before nodding. “Alright, I hope you find something useful there.” He said while his eyes lit up a golden color once again. “I suggest you get stronger before actually going. You can also go somewhere else like the capital or the Dwarves…”
The dwarves? What do they know about swordsmanship? He tilted his head to the side, feeling slightly confused. “Got it, thanks once again for saving my ass back there, it was nice meeting you despite your trigger-happy attitude.” he joked before saying his goodbyes. “May we meet again?”
Léandro waved his hand with a weird smile on his face as he watched Kai’s departing figure. What the fuck is a trigger?
…
Kai left the forest, the blinding rays of light bouncing off his dark cape. Onyx’s huge figure cast a shadow over him as he approached the Obborik, his tail creating small gusts of wind as it swished back and forth.
“Did you wait long?” he asked while looking at the corpse-filled battlefield. The green armored guards collected their companion corpses and placed them into a wagon.
“Stay still!” The captain’s angry voice accompanied by a loud thud resounded in his ears as he turned his head to see what the commotion was all about. The unlucky bandits who couldn’t escape were tied up and struggling to escape but Kai paid them no heed as he signaled Onyx to follow him back to where he left his backpack.
“Wait a moment!” a melodic voice entered his ears. His cloak fluttered slightly as he turned to look at the source of the voice. A light creak resounded from the carriage’s door as it slammed open with a thud.
A girl with long and blonde curly hair emerged from within. Soft rays of sunlight bounced off her sapphire-like eyes onto her milky white skin. A warm breeze blew her soft hair over her bright smile. Kai’s eyes widened at the sight, his heart pounding against his chest as he looked at the girl, sensing her faint but familiar aura.