First Chapter
~ 3 years later
It was a sunny day, in Beldal City and the streets were overcrowded like always, there was a big inn full of people in the main street of the city. On one of the tables an old man and a young boy around the age of 7 or 8 were eating. The old man had white long hair, black eyes, and on his left eye there was a scar that looked to be left by sword, he gave off a majestic aura. The boy on the other hand looked very handsome, with long black hair, and deep black eyes that had a hint of crimson red at the center, he similarly also gave off a noble aura.
“Damon you are already a 2nd Rank Warrior, congratulations.” Said the old man, in the past 3 years, Damon has been training hard everyday, so that he can become stronger, an 8 year old 2nd Rank Warrior was very rare, it can be said that Damon was a real genius, many can become a 1st Rank Warrior, it wasn’t anything special, but going from the 1st to the 2nd rank, an average adult needed around 2-3 years. But for Damon, who was only 8 years old, took 3 years to get past the 1st Rank and enter the 2nd, his future achievements can said to be limitless.
In the Continent of Esterlyn, there are 5 Kingdoms: The Kingdom of Thalron, Kingdom of Valion, Kingdom of Leon, Kingdom Of Zaesh and Kingdom of Wenshal. Beldal City is located in the Kingdom of Wenshal, and the city’s population is around 3 million people.
In this Continent there are Mages and Warriors. Warriors are divided into 9 ranks, every rank being harder to attain than the last, and needing years of practice and hard work. After the 9th rank a Warrior becomes a Grand Warrior.
Mages too are divided into 9 ranks, but there are less magicians on the continent compared to warriors. This is because the magic path is only available for those who have natural talent and affinity to magical elements. There are 7 elements in total: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Darkness and Light. Mages are regarded highly in the Continent of Esterlyn, strong Mages are able to crush cities, call forth meteors, and kill thousands of troops with their magic. Similarly, after the 9th rank, a Mage becomes a Grand Magus.
After reaching the Grand Magus or Grand Warrior stage, one can finally possess enough power for flight, in the eyes of the masses they are like deities, and every kingdom would want to have a good relationship with them, because they can easily change the fate of a war, and no one can order them around, they are free from shackles, able to do whatever they want.
On this road of Power, every rank prolongs a person’s lifetime. Legend has it that a Grand Warrior or Magus are able to live for thousands of years.
~
Damon smiled lightly and continued eating. The sun had already set when the boy and the old man rested in their room, on the second floor of the inn.
The boy was looking at the sky and thinking. The old man was reading book and drinking wine. And the gentle wind flew, passing by. “Desil… who killed my parents?” the boy almost whispered. He kept his sad eyes on the sky, staring. “……..” Desil looked at him but didn’t say a word, Damon had asked this same question many times before, but has never gotten an answer. “You need to rest, tomorrow we are departing for Falric City.” Said Desil as he shifted his eyes towards his book. He didn’t continue reading though, the melancholic mood of the boy caused him to go deep into thought too. ‘3 years ago when we escaped, he cried everyday wanting to see his parents. Looking at him now and comparing him to that time, he has really greatly changed.’
The next morning, they started traveling towards Falric City, on the road they met up with a caravan and joined them. Desil offered his help in exchange for a place in the cart, and since any kind of strength would be helpful on the road, the leader accepted their offer and continued on.
In the cart, with Damon and Desil, was a woman and a little girl around 6-7 years old. “Hello are you going to Falric city too?” asked the woman. “Indeed ma’am, me and my grandson here are going to Falric city, hey Damon, say hello.” said Desil while smiling, “Hello, nice to meet you.” said Damon and slightly smiled. “Hello my name is Vanessa, and this is my daughter, Leyla. Leyla, don’t be rude and greet Desil and Damon.” said the woman while looking at her daughter, whom was hiding behind her back, “H-hi…” she pulled out her head a little bit, slowly, and said with a soft, low voice. Then, again, she hid behind her mother.
Around one hour had passed since they left Beldal City, Desil and Vanessa have been chatting and laughing, while Damon was looking out of the cart like he was thinking about something, and from time to time, Leyla would look at him with astonished eyes. Every time their eyes would meet, he would smile, but as soon as she sees this, she once again begins hiding.
Time flew by, and finally, 5 hours have passed. From Beldal to Felric there was around a distance of five thousand kilometers, so the caravan would need approximately 3-4 days of travel to reach the City. Suddenly though, screams could be heard outside, “Baandiiits!” one of guards shouted, Damon and Desil looked from their cart, only to see that the bandits have already surrounded the whole caravan.
The Leader of the caravan stepped out and pleaded “Please, just let us go, I-i can pay you 500 gold.” His name was Zak, around 40-50 years old, with black hair, black eyes, and an ordinary body. There was nothing special about him, and he was only a 2nd rank warrior. He was just transporting products from one city to another, and didn’t wanted to die for no good reason.
“500 gold? Hahahaa!” suddenly a man came out from the crowd of bandits and proclaimed “I am the Leader of The Tigerclaw Bandits. My name is Eryx. I can let you go, but you must leave all of your belongings and women here.” he was a tall muscular man, with short red hair, around 30 years old. His cultivation was that of a 5th rank Warrior. “This…” The Caravan leader Zak didn’t know what to do, the Bandits demands were too much.
Suddenly, Eryx looked at the cart where Damon and the others were residing and saw Vanessa, his eyes lit up and said “Ohohoh, I didn’t think that i’d meet a beauty like you in a Caravan like this.” he stared at Vanessa like a hungry hyena and told one of his men “You. Bring her to me.” The Bandit nodded his head and started walking in the direction of cart to obey the order, one of guards attempted to stop him but at the same time, a voice rang out “Those who oppose me shall die.” and a sword flew towards the guard, going right through his heart. The guard who was only a 2nd rank warrior, died instantly and fell to the ground. Everyone was shocked and didn’t dare to move.
Just as the bandit neared the cart and was about to grab the woman, a fist flew and sent the bandit flying until he crashed on a boulder, about 20 meters away. Everyone was stupefied. The Bandit Leader furrowed his brows and looked at the cart. From inside, stepped out an old man who looked to be around 60-70 years old. “Old man, was it you who dared to do this to my men?!” Eryx shouted furiously while looking at the old man, “Indeed it was me.” Said the old man calmly and smiled in a way that worked to further infuriate the Bandit Leader. “Everyone! KILL HIMM!!” Eryx ordered, and around 50 bandits roared and started running towards the old man. Almost every bandit were only at the 2nd-3rd rank, and only two of them were at the 4th.
The Old man was standing there calmly like an immovable boulder, and suddenly he drew the sword from the sheath on his back, and while looking at the bandits, slashed his sword horizontally and said in a gentle tone “Heaven Slasher.” Sword energy flew from sword and pierced every single bandit. All of them fell in an instant, their bodies, now lying on the ground, covered in blood. If everyone witnessing this were petrified earlier, the feelings they had now could never be compared. The Leader of the caravan, Zak, remembered how this old man came to him and asked for a place in cart. He now realized that this single decision, was what saved his life, and the life of many others. Vanessa looked from the cart and was astonished, she didn’t believed what she just saw, and at the same time, she was grateful that the old man defended her, even Damon was astonished. He knew that Desil was strong, in the past they have had situations like this, Desil just beat everyone who made trouble for them with ease and he has never unsheathed his sword. Today was the first time that Damon has ever seen the old man’s sword, and the technique left him astonished.
“T-thiss can’t bee, y-yyou are you Grand Warrior? Please-please have mercy, I-i didn’t mean to offend you, p-please!!” Eryx knelt quickly and was shaking as he looked towards the old man, tears have started to make his sight blur. He has never seen a technique like this, and knew that for Warriors, it was impossible to unleash such power, so the only explanation left was that this old man was a Grand Warrior.
“I don’t show mercy for the people like you.” Said the old man and slashed his sword. Eryx’s head flew from his body and fell onto the ground. Everyone looked at old man in awe, and at the same time respect could be seen. Desil turned around and said to Zak “Problem solved, we can go on, right?” while smiling, Zak was stupefied, but his previous experiences in life enabled him to answer “Y-y-yes! Everyone! Get ready. We are moving out.” he shouted and once more, they continued onto the road.
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