Author's Note: Behold you heathens! For I have returned… with a new chapter. After months upon months of pain and suffering I have finally finished writing it. Well… that not the reason for my late update. The real reason is I'm just lazy. But for my readers who truly enjoy my work of fiction, I shall endeavor to redeem myself by writing more chapters.
Chapter-7 : Journey
Jake P.O.V :
The day of their departure came much sooner than expected, as his entire family was ready for the long journey to the capital.
Dinna had volunteered to remain so she could look after their home. While Liya agreed to accompany them during their journey, so that she could take care of the menial tasks during their stay.
"When are we leaving? It's almost noon!"
His son who usually kept a calm demeanor, seemed to vibrate from the excitement of visiting a new place.
Ryne had always been a very curious child who had the desire to explore the unknown. Besides eating, reading and training, visiting new places seems to be the only thing that Ryne genuinely enjoys.
The boy had gotten the bad habit of wandering off by himself whenever they went to the market square. It was something that exasperated Linda to no end.
"Patients my boy. There are still a few people who are yet to join us".
Seeing that he wasn't going to answer any further questions, the boy huffed and returned to his previous spot where he left his book. Sitting on a tree stump, Ryne opened up the book and started reading quietly.
It was one of the three basic magic books, that he gave the boy a few months ago. And by the looks of it, Ryne had already finished reading two-thirds of the first basic book.
By his estimation it would take another two weeks for Ryne to finish the first book completely.
For most novice caster's, it takes around half a year or so to finish the first basic magic book. But for a six year old boy to finish it up within four months would seem ludicrous at best.
It awed him to see how much raw talent his son possessed for the arcane arts. If left to nurture carefully, the boy could easily become one of the greatest magic caster's to ever live.
'Like Linda said, our Ryne is truly one of a kind', he smiled at the reminder of his wife's words.
After the fiasco of Ryne's first spell, the boy had become even more motivated than ever to improve. After a few days of endless trials and errors, the boy had finally learned and performed his first spell all on his own.
The spell he learned was called [Lumos]. A spell which creates an orb of light at the caster's command. It is the easiest first tier spell that anyone could learn without much effort.
But, for Ryne to figure how the spell works and perform it on his first try spoke of his determination. There was only one problem.
While casting [Lumos], the boy had inadvertently overcharged the spell with mana. Much like he did with the water spell. Resulting in him getting blinded for a couple of minutes.
After inspection, they found out that Ryne possessed an enormous amount of mana for his age. And because of that, he was unable to properly measure the amount of mana he should pore. Making the spells overcharged.
To solve this problem, he had adviced the boy to first focus on gaining better control over his mana. To do so there was no better exercise than practice casting [Mana string].
While it was also another first tier spell, the control needed for casting was much greater. Too little mana and the strings wouldn't form, too much mana and the strings would fizzle out.
It didn't take much time for Ryne to understand the spells working, but performing it was a far difficult endeavor. But, that didn't deter him from trying again and again.
And after two weeks of rigorous practice, his control had gotten much better. It would only take more practice until he would gain the needed control.
His musings came to an end, as a large carriage accompanied by a party of five on horseback entered his peripherals.
"You're quite late… another hour and I would have considered taking other options", he addressed the tall-robust man at the front of the group.
The man had his hands in the air grinning playfully. "Guilty as charged. A few things came up at the last moment for us to take care".
"Like you? Who got himself drunk silly and forgot about our escorting mission.", a woman sitting behind the man remarked snidely.
"Hey now, at the very least I didn't have to suffer from the horse shit that you tried to make for breakfast", the man replied bitingly.
"Why you!?-"
"Now, now. Let's not embarrass ourselves any further", said a bearded man in heavy armor from behind. On a glance he was the oldest person in their group. The men offered him a handshake. "It is nice to meet you. I'm Malkor, this group's Tank. I hope we can get along during our travel together".
He reciprocated the gesture by shaking the offered hand firmly.
Third Person's P.O.V:
After a few minutes of the new arrivals, the entire Brinewood family had gathered Infront of them ready for departure.
Seeing this the robust man came forward and bowed slightly."Let us introduce ourselves".
The man had a mop of dirty brown hair and brown eyes. While wearing a green shirt, with a leather vest protecting his upper half. He also had black pants and leather boots. From his back two short swords dangled loosely.
"Hello, I am Tyrek a gold ranked adventurer. I'm a swashbuckler and the leader of this party Twilight. And behind me is our party's tank Malkor".
He waved at the older bearded man in heavy full plated armor. The man was bald headed and had a long deep cut below his cheek. The man nodded at the family. "Lets get along during this trip".
Tyrek continued his introduction as he pointed at the lady standing next to him. "This is our party's mage Priya".
She was a young lady with long Turquoise hair tied in a braid. She was wearing a magenta colored robe while holding a metal staff topped with a crystal ball.
"Good afternoon. It is an honor to meet the great mage of E-rental and his family. Like my leader said I'm Priya, a third tier silver ranked magic caster. Hope we have a wonderful time together".
"Next is our ranger Fin. He's the silent type so don't mind him much".
Fin just nodded his head. He was a tanned man with tealed coloured eyes, wearing light clothes.
"And lastly the rookie of our team, John", Tyrek introduced as he messily patted the head of a teenage boy.
The boy pushed the man away forcefully and started to fix his messed up hair. The boy looked twice as Ryan's age, around fourteen to fifteen. He had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was also wearing a yellow colored shirt with some light armour. On his one hip a dagger and on another a short sword was situated.
"H-hi… I'm John a bronze ranked swordsman. Let's get along".
As their introduction was finished Jake stepped forward. "Well it seems now it's our turn. As you know I'm Jake Brinewood, guild master of the E-rental magician guild". Jake waved at Linda. "And this is my wife Linda Brinewood".
As Linda just smiled at the adventurers. "And behind her is our house maid Liya", at which Liya bowed at them.
"And who is this young man?", Tyrek asked curious as the boy had been scrutinizing them for a long time.
"Oh, this is my son. Ryan, why don't you introduce yourself?".
At the prompting the boy stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Good afternoon, my name is Ryne, Ryne Brinewood. I'm very glad to meet fine adventurers as yourselves. And hope that we can have a wonderful time together".
"Oh my, what a fine young man with such good manners! John you should take notes from this fine gentleman", priya said amazed at how fluently the boy spoke.
"Why me though!", the boy asked exasperated.
"Well you're still young, so it's still time for you to learn some good manners".
"Hey now-"
Tyrek brought both his hands up and clapped loudly. "Well, now that's finished let us depart since daylight is still burning".
And with that the group had left E-rental city.
Third Person's P.O.V:
After a few minutes of the new arrivals, the entire Brinewood family had gathered Infront of them ready for departure.
Seeing this the robust man came forward and bowed slightly."Let us introduce ourselves".
The man had a mop of dirty brown hair and brown eyes. While wearing a green shirt, with a leather vest protecting his upper half. He also had black pants and leather boots. From his back two short swords dangled loosely.
"Hello, I am Tyrek a gold ranked adventurer. I'm a swashbuckler and the leader of this party Twilight. And behind me is our party's tank Malkor".
He waved at the older bearded man in heavy full plated armor. The man was bald headed and had a long deep cut below his cheek. The man nodded at the family. "Lets get along during this trip".
Tyrek continued his introduction as he pointed at the lady standing next to him. "This is our party's mage Priya".
She was a young lady with long Turquoise hair tied in a braid. She was wearing a magenta colored robe while holding a metal staff topped with a crystal ball.
"Good afternoon. It is an honor to meet the great mage of E-rental and his family. Like my leader said I'm Priya, a third tier silver ranked magic caster. Hope we have a wonderful time together".
"Next is our ranger Fin. He's the silent type so don't mind him much".
Fin just nodded his head. He was a tanned man with tealed coloured eyes, wearing light clothes.
"And lastly the rookie of our team, John", Tyrek introduced as he messily patted the head of a teenage boy.
The boy pushed the man away forcefully and started to fix his messed up hair. The boy looked twice as Ryan's age, around fourteen to fifteen. He had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was also wearing a yellow colored shirt with some light armour. On his one hip a dagger and on another a short sword was situated.
"H-hi… I'm John a bronze ranked swordsman. Let's get along".
As their introduction was finished Jake stepped forward. "Well it seems now it's our turn. As you know I'm Jake Brinewood, guild master of the E-rental magician guild". Jake waved at Linda. "And this is my wife Linda Brinewood".
As Linda just smiled at the adventurers. "And behind her is our house maid Liya", at which Liya bowed at them.
"And who is this young man?", Tyrek asked curious as the boy had been scrutinizing them for a long time.
"Oh, this is my son. Ryan, why don't you introduce yourself?".
At the prompting the boy stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Good afternoon, my name is Ryne, Ryne Brinewood. I'm very glad to meet fine adventurers as yourselves. And hope that we can have a wonderful time together".
"Oh my, what a fine young man with such good manners! John you should take notes from this fine gentleman", priya said amazed at how fluently the boy spoke.
"Why me though!", the boy asked exasperated.
"Well you're still young, so it's still time for you to learn some good manners".
"Hey now-"
Tyrek brought both his hands up and clapped loudly. "Well, now that's finished let us depart since daylight is still burning".
And with that the group had left E-rental city.
Ryne's P.O.V:
It's been a day since we departed from E-rental. Travel in this age was slow and tedious. Much so when it seems like the muddy road stretches to the horizon.
For estimation a trip to the royal capital from E-rental usually takes around two days, sometimes even three. And so it would take another day and a half for us to reach the city.
Till now our journey has been quite uneventful. Consisting of only riding and the occasional rest. And it seems like it would be continuing like this.
Ding
[Exp 1!]
Ding
[Exp 3!]
'Sigh… when I told him to take care of the monsters, I DIDN'T mean him to kill everything on sight.', while it was good that he was getting a lot of Exp and leveling up. But it also meant people would start asking questions.
"It's really quiet for some time, too quiet… usually you would at least hear the sound of wild animals or even birds. It's making me feel uncomfortable", Linda said to herself.
And the feeling was shared by everyone excluding Ryan. Anyone would be suspicious if the road was so quiet, while being so close to the edge of the forest which housed thousands of monsters.
Ding
[Exp 2!]
Ding
[Level Up!]
Sighing to himself Ryan contacted Kuro through their shared link.
[Master! Is there something that this servant of yours can do for you?]
[Umu… Try not to kill anything from now on].
[Understood. Your wish is my command].
After which their journey continued in relative silence. As the evening sun was about to set, they had to stop and prepare for camping since the closest village was still a few miles away.
And traveling at night while being so close to the forest was heavily advised against.
The adventurers were quick to move as within minutes they found a clearing to camp, as well as setting up a perimeter.
While everyone was busy working I found myself a nice place to sit, that being a flat stone. Sitting down I cracked open my book on one hand while trying to create mana strings with the other.
Meanwhile the adults had finished setting up camp. And were in the process of making dinner.
As hours passed by I had minimal success creating mana strings. While it had become much easier to create mana strings, maintaining the strings was a different matter altogether. I could hardly maintain the strings for two seconds. Maximum three.
As the aroma of roasted meat and vegetable porridge entered my nostrils, I decided to end my practice session short.
Dinner was a lively event. As chatter filled the small group ranging from many inane topics. The group of adventurers had also shared a few interesting stories of their travels. This went on until soon enough everyone had finished their meal.
Fin and Malkor were the ones who had volunteered to take the first watch during the night. And the three women had opted to prepare the bed spaces for everyone.
Third person's P.O.V :
"You sure we can't continue this in the morning?", the youngest adventurer of the group, John wined as he slashed towards his team leader.
Tyrek effortlessly parried the sword strike with his own forcing John to take a few steps back. "While I would've loved nothing more than getting a few more hours of extra sleep, you're still too green for my liking".
Disgruntled the boy went straight for his opponent and delivered a plethora of flimsy sword strikes none of which connected.
Seeing the boy had lost all concentration Tyrek clicked his tongue and jabbed lightly making the boy tumble over. "Concentrate John. Concentration is key. You lose your calm far too quickly. At this rate you won't be able to advance to silver rank for another year or so."
"I'm… trying my best", the boy replied breathing harshly.
"Do. Don't try. This trip was supposed to give you some needed experience with minimal risks. But unfortunately we couldn't find any monsters for you to fight. So this is the next best thing I could think of".
John just nodded standing back up.
"We should cut this short with one last spar. But before that… you should come out now, I know you're there. It isn't polite to spy on others."
A few moments later faint footsteps echoed as the son of their client, Ryne came before them. The moonlight shined upon the boy illuminating the boys soft features. The only odd thing was the small wooden sword in the boys hands.
Quirking an eyebrow Tyrek asked, "Is there something that you need kid?".
Coughing lightly the kid took a step forward and… bowed in a forty five degree angle, "I would like to request a spar against your esteemed self".
Befuddled by the situation Tyrek asked, "From what I saw earlier weren't you studying to become a magic caster like your father?"
The boy shook his head. "While I do aim to become a magic caster, I also want to be proficient with a sword enough to defend myself".
From the side John scoffed at the younger boy's words. As if being proficient at both magic and swordsmanship is even possible. Even a greenhorn like him knew that much!
Tyrek sent a glare towards his youngest teammate as a reprimand and looked at Ryne with pity. "While that is an admirable goal. Many have tried to do the same, and I don't know of anyone who succeeded. I would advise you to focus on your magical studies".
But the boy didn't back down even a little, "Please, give me one chance to prove myself". Ryne requested once more.
The older man was now getting annoyed at the boys insistence. "Look kid, while swordsmanship might look easy from afar. It's also complicated in its own way. You'd need to learn the basics and build a foundation to start with".
"But I do know the basics! I have been practicing them over and over for the last two years."
Still being doubtful of the boys earnest words he had to reluctantly accept the boys request. "Ok, ok. I'll give you one spar but that's all. But you will be sparing with John rather than me."
"Ehh?! Why would I have to spar with the kid?", John asked indignantly.
"Because I said so. Now bring out your training sword". In response the boy growled yet obeyed his command.
Ryne still facing the older man asked, "If… I defeat him. Will you teach me to dual wield?"
"Hah! As if you could even scratch me. Just don't go crying to your mom once I put your ass on the ground!"
But Ryne didn't rise to the older boys provocation still staring at the older man.
Amused he accepted the boys challenge, "Yeah, ok. I'll teach you something if you manage to beat John". He had to give it to the kid that he was observant enough to figure out that he was a dual wielder.
Nodding Ryne went and stood opposite to John with his weapon raised.
"Remember don't start wineing when you lose or get hurt", John mocked yet Ryne didn't show any sign of being bothered. Making the older boy click his tongue in frustration.
Tyrek stood between the two boys. When he saw both were ready, he gave the signal to start.
As soon as the signal was given John went straight towards the younger boy.
Slash.
Slash.
Thrust.
Slash.
It was clear to see that John was going for a full out assault. Strike after strike was delivered intending on not giving even a single second of reprieve to Ryne.
Thrust.
Thrust.
Slash.
Yet with each strike the annoyance he felt grew more and more. Because since the start of this spar John couldn't land even a single strike on the younger boy.
Each of his attacks were masterfully blocked. His careless strikes dodged entirely. And his powerful strikes parried with equal power.
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
This back and forth went on for ten minutes as John grew more reckless. All the while Ryne was avoiding him as if he was a masterful dancer.
"Haaaa!", throwing away all caution John jumped and delivered a two handed strike upon his opponent.
Ryne momentarily surprised, barely dodged as the strike grazed by his shoulder. Not wanting to give the older boy another chance to strike, Ryne leaned forward and delivered a solid thrust on Johns unguarded solar plexus.
Pain coursed through John's body as he backed off clutching the spot where the hit landed. The pain was making it hard to even breathe.
It took a few moments for the pain to subside so he could breathe normally again. "Liar! You said you never learned swordsmanship. Do you think this is funny?!"
"I clearly said I knew the basics and practiced them regularly", Ryne frowned. While his breathing was irregular he wasn't as out of breath as John.
"Bullshit! Who'd be stupid enough to believe-?!"
"John. Shut your mouth and concentrate on the fight", Tyrek said glaring at the boy.
John gritted his teeth at the frustration he was feeling. As both boys stood a distance away, John opted to stand his ground rather than dash at his opponent like before.
Seeing that John wasn't going to budge Ryne moved. "If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you", saying that Ryne dashed towards John.
The younger boy closed the distance much faster than John did. This time Ryne went on the offensive. Even with the height advantage John was unable to stop Ryne from entering his guard.
Slash.
Thrust.
Thrust.
unlike John each strike was powerful and precise. Blocking them took everything John had. Each strike forced John to step back further and further. Slowly a thrumming pain was starting to appear each time John was forced to block.
Thrust.
Thrust.
Slash.
Whatever semblance of a guard John was holding was blown away as Ryne delivered an overhead slash.
Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Ryne delivered a flawless execution of the same move which Tyrek had used against John minutes ago.
The strike was powerful enough to throw John off as he tumbled over the ground. Johns wooden sword slipped from his hand and landed a few meters away.
Before John could scramble for his sword, he saw Rynes wooden sword pointing between his eyes.
"Yield.", the younger boy said not showing any emotion on his face. His voice was neutral and face a blank mask. Nothing to indicate that he had just won a spar against a boy twice his age.
Then the realization hit him that he had lost the spar. John had never felt more ashamed than that moment. He, a fledgling adventurer, who had trained for years, had lost to a kid half his age! And just to rub salt on the wound the kid wasn't even a swordsman!
Not getting any response Tyrek had declared Ryne the winner. After which the younger boy offered John a hand to get up.
John was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Ryne to either gloat or mock him. Hell, he would've understood if he decided to belittle his swordsmanship. But what he didn't expect to see was pity in the younger boys eyes. Pity! That was the final straw.
Swiping the offered hand away he quickly got up and ran from there, trying to hide the tears pushing to get out.
Ryne P.O.V :
'Well, that was… awkward. And here I was planning to make connections with all the adventurers. I don't think that's viable anymore, at least with him', I thought sullenly.
'At least now I know where I stand compared to the normal copper ranked adventurer', with that thought I opened my HUD.
-x-
Player : Momonga {Accessable}
Guild Affiliation : Ainz Ooal Gown {Unreachable}
Racial Class : Undead {Unlocked}
Racial Level : 10 {Unlocked}
Spells : [Magic arrow]
-x-
Player : Ryne Brinewood
Guild Affiliation: None
Racial Level (human) : 10
Talent : ?
Skill : [Beginners Swordsmanship I]
Spells: [Create Water] [Mana strings]
-x-
Playing Progress : 67% {currently}
Daily Bonus : 100 exp
-x-
Right before we left the city of E-rental, I acquired the spell [Magic arrow] and this new skill named [Beginners Swordsmanship I].
While the first tier spell [Magic arrow] was the most basic and well known spell in YGGDRASIL, which is the first spell any magic caster learns upon reaching level 7.
But [Beginners Swordsmanship I] is a skill which I had never heard of. I don't think such a skill existed in YGGDRASIL. Since most of the warrior skills were AI inhanced in the first place.
I couldn't test my spell without raising questions like how I learned it without anyone teaching me. So, the only other option was to test the skill. And I don't think mother would have entertained my request of a spar. So, when I saw these adventurer spar I jumped at the chance to test it.
upon using the skill I started seeing wispy string like threads coming from my sword and other parts of my body. All of which were flowing differently.
As the first strike from my opponent was made, I tried following the strings with both my body and sword. The result, I had easily blocked my opponents strike. You would think that following all these strings in the middle of combat would be impossible.
But strangely following them was more instinctual rather than intentional. Its as if my body knew how to move, I just had to give the command.
That's how I could match the older boy strike for strike and win the spar without getting hit. While I did stumbled once almost getting hit by my opponent.
Shaking myself of this thought I turned and looked at Tyrek. He was standing there still as a statue. I half expected him to go after John.
The older man was looking at me with a serious expression. As if he was trying to dissect me.
I put one end of my sword down on the ground and asked with fervor, "So when do we start?"
Tyrek P.O.V :
Seeing the boy fight was… something. First when the boy showed up and asked to spar, I thought he was showing childish fancy over something he found 'cool'.
So, I agreed without question even when the boy wanted to learn from me if he 'won'. Pitting him against John was intentional. I wanted John to break the kids ego a little.
While John wasn't the strongest copper ranked adventurer there was, he was better than most. I'd even say John is a better swordsman than me when I was his age.
While the kid clearly had control issues but he wasn't a pushover. It should've been the kid losing and running away, not the other way around.
The way the kid moved was stiff yet precise. His footwork was great and he was very fast, too fast. Not to mention the boy was physically stronger than John, who is twice his age.
So there are only two possibilities to consider. First either the boy had started to train after the day he was born, or second he is a once in a century genius. People who are only mentioned in legends.
"So when do we start?"
My attention came back to the boy. The boy clearly had talent. If nurtured properly he could become the greatest swordsman the kingdom has ever seen.
"First, tell me who taught you swordsmanship?", there was no way the boy learned how to perform precise movements and sword strikes on his own.
The boy fidgeted a little not expecting such a question. "Well, my mother did. She was a orichalcum ranked adventurer before she retired."
My eyes widened at that tidbit of information. Orichalcum wasn't a rank that could be gained easily. There are probably only a dozen Orichalcum teams in the entire kingdom. Not to mention you'd have to be the best of the best.
A mother who was an orichalcum ranked adventurer and a father who is the guild master of the magicians guild. Yes… if that was the case that explains quite a lot how this kid is so prodigious. 'A crane in a flock of chicken', I thought. It's an idiom used to describe someone who is more outstanding than all his peers.
"Listen, Ryne right? I won't mince words. You have a level of talent in swordsmanship that I have never seen in anyone else. It would be a waste if you don't quit your magical studies and give your all in swordsmanship.", I tried explaining to the boy.
The boy looked irritated at my words, "For your information, my father said the same thing about my magical studies. So, I will continue training in both."
I shook my head in mirth. This kid was something else. "Ok, I understand. If you're the kind of genius I think you are, you're probably the only person who can."
The kid tilted his head in confusion, "So, when do we start?"
"While I'd love to start now, but its too late and my shift is about to start. Not to add that I have to go console another kid. So let's continue this in the morning".
"Ok, then see you in the morning.", the kid said as he ran off.
"Quite special… isn't he?"
At a moment's notice I pulled one of my swords and brandished it at the person standing behind me.
My eyes went wide to see the client, Rynes father. The man was standing there with a slight smirk as he stared at the tip of my sword. Even now I was having a hard time noticing the man. It's as if the shadows themselves were hiding him from my senses.
I was always observant of my surroundings. But for this person to sneak up so close to me, without me noticing until he spoke up. Only convinced me how dangerous my client was. "When?", was the only thing I asked.
The man only gave a shallow smile. "Right before my boy came up to you. I had to put a [Silence] just so my wife wouldn't be distributed".
And that confirmed it. While the trip from E-rental to the capital might be long, the number of monsters or bandits you could encounter are far and few between. You don't need a gold ranked team for that. This man alone could take care of most problems that showed up. We were just a front.
The man rummaged through his robes and brought out a small pouch. Without promoting he threw the pouch at me. When I caught it there was a clinking sound. Opening it I was met with a bag full of silver coins. More than what our trip would've paid.
"Take it as a token of my appreciation. I expect you to do the same during our return trip", with that the man turned and start walking towards the camp. Right before the mage was out of my sight he stopped. "A word of caution, whatever you saw or heard shouldn't be known to anyone else", there was a dark glint to the mans eyes as he spoke those words. And with that the client went back to the camp.
I stood there silently looking at the pouch and contemplating, "What have I gotten myself into now?"
Author's Note: And… done!
Well that took a lot of effort than I expected.
My Fanfiction account isn't working. So I don't know when I'll be able post there.
Special thanks to Dremer1999 and Hikikolocke. Thanks a lot guys for you encouragement and compliments. I couldn't do it without your support.
Let's hope I can't dish out the next chapter faster.
Next Update: Shifting Worlds.