Chapter 2

  I began training right after. My instructor said, “The first thing a knight must work on is his endurance.” I began running around the castle and continued to run until I passed out. When I awoke, my legs felt as if they were Jello and it was hard to stand, I had never done training like this before. For the next few months, Otto, my instructor, had me doing all sorts of physical exercises. Because of this, I built a body unnatural for any 6-year-old. My muscles were toned and near the size of a grown man. My instructor noticed this and finally said “I think you’ve had enough, it is time for swordsmanship and to practice mana circulation.”

  Although I was a knight in my previous life, I was a sloppy swordsman and wasn’t all that good with it. At the moment, I have the basics down, how to hold a sword and how to swing. Under Otto’s guidance, he would correct the mistakes in my past and rebuild my swordsmanship.

  To begin with, he had me swing a few times. With each swing he would correct something, “Too stiff” he said, hitting my wrist with the wooden sword in his hand. His strike would’ve hurt had I not built-up muscle. I swung again, I focused on the movement and weight of the sword, trying to keep both balanced but still have power. Every mistake I had meant a strike from his wooden sword. As I swung, Otto had me adjust my stance, angles, and power.

  Sweat clung to my skin, my arms aching from the endless repetition. But I realized that I had begun grasping true swordsmanship. This excited me as I was truly able to experience a sword. I continued to do this with continued muscle training for the next few months.

  On the side, every day before bed I would sit and meditate, practice the circulation and collecting mana. I found that there are times and places that have more amounts of mana. The land around me wasn’t all that barren due to all the plants around us, but still didn’t have much because of all the people. Otto didn’t help me much when it came to mana so I had to rely on myself and books. Despite this, I quickly learnt my own way of collecting mana which then enhanced my nerves and abilities. This then allowed me to learn an even better way of controlling my mana. Without much time, I reached the 1st star and continued to try for the second. As my mana grew, I began to notice that the senses and strength grew with it. Not only that but I also gained a new sense, a sense through mana, though it is still foreign to me, and I don’t quite know how to use it.

  Over time I began to feel a burning in my chest, as if something wanted to get out, with every swing. I kept swinging not knowing what it was, trying to ignore it. With the last swing of the day, the burn got much stronger than before. As I moved the blade of my sword downwards, I felt the burn release and an intense blaze of fire came shooting out of my sword.

  “It has finally happened, although sooner than expected, “Otto exclaimed.

  Otto then told me I could be done for the day and hurried off towards the castle. Otto continued towards Lucius’s office (my father). He entered the office in a hurry, knelt and said “My king”

  “What is it, Otto? I thought you were to be training Elijah right now.”

  “I am sorry, my king, I have urgent news about Elijah’s progress. He was just able to execute a slash using his spirit’s power.”

  “Oh, this soon? This is better than I had expected. Increase the intensity of his training. He must be strong enough before it is his turn to go.”

  “Yes, my king.” Otto exits the office.

  “He is doing much better than even I had at his age, and I am a 10-star knight.” Lucius thought to himself as he stared out the window at Elijah who was still in the training field.

  Elijah continued to practice swinging throughout the night. His strong passion to get stronger was so intense it kept him awake. Otto went to wake Elijah in his room, but he wasn’t there. “Maybe he is already training” Otto thought as he headed towards the training field only to find Elijah passed out on the ground. “Did he stay out here all night?” Otto picked up Elijah and brought him back to the castle and to his room.

  In Elijah’s sleep, darkness stretched endlessly around him, a void so deep it felt like it had swallowed existence itself. But then, something stirred. From the blackness, a figure began to emerge, slowly taking shape as it advanced. At first, it was nothing more than a silhouette, around the height of Cassia, its presence unsettling, as though the air itself recoiled from it.

  As the figure came closer, details began to become clear as if it was coming out from the shadows. Its skin seemed to be smooth but scorched around the right eye. Two horns started around the temples, curved back following the outside of the head.

  Its eyes were glowing purple, lighting up its hair and parts of its face. Its eyes seemed to not just look at me but also into me, as if it were looking into my soul. Its hair was long, swirling even though there was no breeze. The figure looked graceful yet wicked, lean and curvy yet powerful. Once it got close enough, I realized that it was a woman.

  “My name is Pandemonica” The woman said in a surprisingly soft yet intimidating voice. “I am the Ruler of the Demon realm and the Demon of Chaos. If you wish to borrow my power, you must prove yourself.”

  Demon realm? Demons? I thought those were all just tales to scare kids. “What do you mean borrow your power? How would I prove myself?” I asked the Demon.

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  I awoke, cutting off the Demon as she was about to speak, not getting an answer to my questions. Will I be able to see her again?

  “You’re finally awake!” Cassia said. She was waiting at my bedside.

  “How did I get here?”

  “Otto found you in the training field and brought you back to your room. He said you have the day off today. Would you accompany me to the market today?”

  I made sure to bring a weapon of some sort with me to the market, albeit, kept hidden. I know the kingdom is a safe place for me, but with my sister with... I would rather have a sure way of keeping her safe. Father surprisingly easily agreed to us going to the market alone. I have a feeling that he secretly sent someone to tail us.

  “OOOOO, look at this necklace! Isn't it pretty?” Cassia asked me.

  “Yes, it is rather beautiful, would you like to get it?” I responded.

  “Can I? Can I really?”

  “I'm sure father would allow it.”

  Cassia went everywhere, dragging me to almost every store she found. She mostly just looked at things, I noticed that was a trend with her. Slowly the “shopping” became stultifying, and I just wanted to go train.

  The last store we stopped at looked to be a rundown building with nothing good. The outside of the building looked to be falling apart, and I didn’t think we would find anything good here as well. As we entered, the feeling I got completely changed. There were many swords all over the place, none of low quality. A little man with a long beard came out from behind the counter and started yelling at us. “What do you want? Why are you here?” The man yelled.

  “A dwarf? Are those real here too? What else do I need to know about, are elves real too?” I thought to myself

  “We came here to get my brother a sword. Father told me you are the best blacksmith in the kingdom.” Cassia said politely.

  “What, why would someone send you here? Can’t you tell there's nothing good here? Well, anyways, since you are here you might as well look around. Though, I don’t think you will find anything for a kid in here.”

  “Thank you, sir. We will be getting a sword for him to use when he is older. Can we see your best swords?”

  “They are all on the right side of the store, go look yourself.”

  “I’m sorry sir but we were looking to make a custom order,” Cassia told the man.

  “Oh? I was going to retire, but I suppose I can make one for the sword if it is for the new prince.” The old man replies, “I suppose I will get working on it right away. It should be completed in a few weeks, come back then.”

  After leaving that store, we went back home. Cassia looked eccentric. “I’m so happy we were able to go to the market today. It was so much fun. Thank you for coming with me, Elijah.”

  “Of course, it is better than being cooped up in the castle.”

  For the next 6 years I trained relentlessly, never skipping training. I knew the only way to get better was to practice and perfect my sword technique. I know I won’t be able to truly perfect it without battle experience, but I should be able to defeat most enemies with my new swordsmanship. Otto helped me a lot with controlling the power I got from the Phoenix and how to control them. With the powers of the Phoenix, I can control all fire and am immune to fire. With how new I am to controlling the powers of the Phoenix, there might be many more abilities I am not yet aware of.

  I am 11 now, I will start at the Academy when I turn 15. The Academy is a very prestigious school and is said to be extremely difficult to get into. I must perfect my swordsmanship before entering, I must make sure I get in, to learn more about this world.

  “The king is calling for you, my prince,” A knight said as he entered the training field.

  “I will be there right away,” I respond as I begin to leave the training grounds. “You called for me, father?”

  “Yes, my son. As you know we are to send troops every year to the Forest of the Damned, and I know you are looking for real experience that can help you perfect your sword technique. Would you like to go with this year?”

  “I-” Before I could say anything a demanding voice echoed in my head “Do it and grow stronger.” I thought for a moment before answering the question. “I will do it.” I finally say.

  “Great, you will be leaving tomorrow for the 2nd continent. I hope you stay safe.”

  As I left my father’s office, I began to question what that voice was. Could it have been Pandemonica and if so, why haven’t I heard from her since my dream? Smack, did I just run into someone? I was so deep in thought that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I look around and see Cassia on the floor, “I heard you were going to the 2nd continent. Is that true?” Cassia questioned.

  “I suppose so, but this was just decided, how did you hear already?” I reply.

  “I have my ways; that’s beside the point though. Why are you leaving? It isn’t safe over there, what am I going to do if you die?” Cassia protest.

  “I am going in order to get stronger. I must get stronger to protect the things I care about and to get into the academy.”

  “If you really have to go, you might as well take the sword I had made for you with.” Cassia handed me the sword she had gotten me. It was a beautiful sword with a dragon at its hand guard and a gem in the dragon's eye. The blade was long and sharp with words written on it saying “Bravery, Determination, and Strength”. As I grabbed it, it was surprisingly light and easy to handle. The handle fit almost perfectly into my hand as if I had made it myself.

  “Thank you, Cassia, I will use it with care” I said gratefully. I walked away knowing that if I stayed any longer Cassia might force me to stay here. On my way out of the castle Atlus and Atticus stopped me to wish for my safety. I assured them that I would be fine and requested them to take good care of Cassia and Mother. After that I set off for Virastis with the rest of the troops we sent.

  It took a whole month for us to arrive in Virastis and it is nothing what I expected a port kingdom to be like. It was calmer and more organized than I had thought. There were many ships waiting for us to take us to our destination, all of them looked to be sturdy and well-built for the technology of this era. “A kid? The great Reinhardt kingdom brought a kid?” A man shouted from in the crowd, we ignored him and continued to board the ships. From the First continent to the Second, it takes around 1 month.

  During the 1 month on the ship, I made sure to practice every time I could, there wasn’t all that much space on the ship, so I had to make do with what I had. On our way we encountered a few monsters, but nothing that needed much help for, it was a surprisingly calm trip. BOOM! A massive explosion came from the shore just as it came into view. “Is there trouble at the base?” I thought. Whilst approaching the base, someone shouted “Prepare for immediate contact upon docking!”

  I got my stuff together, grabbed my sword and headed to the deck. The deck was chaotic with every running to prepare for battle and for docking. I readied myself for the battle that was too come.