Chapter 1

  As my eyes started to flutter open, I could feel the morning sun shine down upon my face as the smell of breakfast fluttered from downstairs. Throwing the blanket, that was covering me, off my body I stretched and walked over to my dresser where a bowl and a pitcher of water was waiting for me to wash my face with a towel that was lying next to them.

  As I scrubbed my face, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw the same thing I saw every morning. A mane of black hair that reached down to my shoulders, a face that was sharp and held a perpetual look of seriousness about it, and two crystal-clear golden eyes staring back at me.

  I was not displeased with my looks, many had said that I looked a lot like my father, except for the hair which was the only thing that I inherited from my mother. And this suited me just fine. I then threw on a linen shirt and pants as I made my way down the stairs listening to the wooden floor creak as I walked on it.

  As I entered the kitchen, I saw my mother at the stove as the sounds of sizzling reached my ears. She was wearing a green skirt that reached down to her ankles accompanied by a beige top and a black corset around her waist to finish off her outfit. The same black hair, that was prominent on my head, flowed down her back to her waist like a waterfall of raven feathers as it swayed with her movements.

  As mother turned around to face me, her face, which always had the look of a caring and kindhearted mother, stretched into a smile that reached up to her green eyes. “Morning sweety, did you sleep well?” Looking into her eyes I just gave a simple nod and answered, “Yeah, had a weird dream, but for the life of me I can’t seem to remember it.”

  Mother just gave a short laugh and said, “Dreams are weird like that sweety, I would not put too much thought into it. If the dream was worth remembering, you would.” I just mulled that over and concluded that she was right as there were other more important things to worry about in life.

  Taking a seat at the table mother came over and placed a plate of eggs, two sausages, and a decent pile of sun berries, that had just come in season, in front of me. As I thanked her for breakfast and she made her way back towards the stove I spoke up and asked, “Is miss Quan coming by today to pick up her medicine or am I going to have to deliver it to her like last time?”

  Mother just turned around and said, “No, she is actually doing much better this time around and will be coming by later this afternoon to pick up the remainder of her medicine after it is ready.” “That’s good,” I replied with a happy tone.

  Mother had the versatile Skill of [Apothecarist] which allowed her to brew everything from simple medicines to Mana potions, which she sold in store front attached to our house and her workspace. And being the only one in our Township with that Skill made her an indispensable part of the community.

  Before I could dig into my breakfast the sound of a door opening and closing followed by heavy boots could be heard in the hallway that led to the area outside our home. Following those footsteps an imposing man entered the kitchen with the same serious face as mine. It was my father, Richard Luxeria.

  Father was a tall man, easily six feet in height, with well-defined muscles covering his entire frame. He also had dirty blond hair and the same crystal-clear golden eyes as mine. The difference was that the left side of his face had a scar that ran from his forehead across his eye and down his check. It was pure luck that he was able to continue to see out of that eye instead of losing it in the battle where he had received that scar.

  Father had the great Skill of [Grand Knight] which allowed him to quickly rise in rank to become a General in the Capital Knights. With that position he was able to defend the Capital from the last great monster horde that had attacked and successfully repel it. It was that same battle where he received that infamous scar.

  It was after that harrowing battle that father decided it was time to retire from his position and pass it on to the next person in line because from that point on father desired a more peaceful life.

  Father knew that he could not fully escape battle with his Skill but thought a Township where monster attacks were less frequent was a perfect compromise. Thus, he wound up moving here, got himself the position of Captain of the City Watch, eventually met my mother, and together they started a family.

  As father walked into the kitchen a smile spread across his face as he made his way over to mother and embraced her in a hug. His size easily dwarfed mothers as the top of her head barely came up to the middle of his chest causing him to have to lean down as he placed a kiss on the right side of her head. “Morning Ray,” I heard him say in a happy voice as I started to eat. Mother just turned her head with a smile and replied, “Morning Darling,” as she returned the kiss with one to his left cheek.

  After father untangled his arms from mother’s waist, he then made his way over to the table and pulled out the chair sitting across from me and sat down. He then looked at me with a simple smile and said, “Morning Callum.” As I looked into his eyes I answered, “Morning Father.” Mother came right over and placed a plate that had a similar breakfast to mine upon it in front of him. To which he replied with a “Thank You.”

  As father started to consume his breakfast, he looked at me and asked, “Callum, are you ready for our morning practice session?”

  I finished the bit of food I was chewing on before I answered, “Yes…I practiced the forms you taught me the other day and I would like to try them out to see if I have the right range of motions down.” Father just smiled and said, “Good. I am eager to see your progress.”

  As father and I continued to eat our breakfast, father reached into his pocket and retrieved an envelope from within. As he held it up, he said, “This message just arrived while I was outside. It is from your sister.” I just looked at him with a neutral face and replied, “Oh… really… I find it surprising she found time to write with how busy she is.” Mother, on the other hand, was much more enthusiastic with her reply, “How is my baby girl doing?” Father then unfolded the letter and began to read its contents.

  Dear Mother, Father, and Cal,

  I hope you are doing well.

  There has finally been a low in my job requests and training, so I thought it prudent to give you an update as to my well-being. I will not lie. It has been tough as of late. There seems to either be more problems that others just can’t seem to solve by themselves or there are more requests for me join a different group willing to teach me something new.

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  I am just about ready to say enough and move back home to follow in father’s footsteps and enjoy a simpler life. However, I know that will not really change things for the better and I am aware that the work, I am doing all over the kingdom, is important.

  On a lighter note, I am letting you know that I will finally be given a month’s reprieve from all the work I have been doing. The Council and Adventurer’s Guild said that I have earned a small vacation for all my hard work and the number of assignments I have completed.

  As soon as I finish my last job request from the Council, I will begin the journey to Night Glen Township so I can spend my vacation time with all of you. Hopefully mother will have her best meal waiting for me when I finally return home.

  May you all be waiting for me with enthusiasm abound as I can’t wait to see you all again,

  - Selene

  P.S. – Cal, I am really looking forward to seeing how much you have come along in your training. Just remember, no matter what, your big sister will always look out for you and be by your side when you need her the most.

  As father folded the letter back up mother just sighed and said, “That is just like my baby girl…always looking out for her younger brother and so hard working.”

  Father just smiled and said, “And thinking with her stomach when it comes to being back at home.” In response mother walked over and lightly punched father on his right shoulder to admonish him for the snarky comment about their own daughter.

  Me, I just tried to give no outward appearance to the news I had just received. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but sometimes I can’t help but feel trapped in her shadow with all she has accomplished.

  Selene is 8 years older than me and blessed with the Skill [Fast Growth]. That Skill is so rare that it only appears once every hundred years or so and gives the person the ability to do just about anything. All other skills and spells are within reach of her and can be learned at a vastly accelerated rate compared to that of a normal person. She still has to have someone teach her the skills and spells she learns, as she did not gain any Sub-Skills when she awakened. However, that is a trivial matter when everyone is eager to teach a prodigy that can learn any skill or spell as quickly as she can.

  After father and I had both finished our breakfast and washed our plates, we went our separate ways. Father went to the back of the house to await my return, while I went to the storage closet and got my training gear.

  I pulled out a leather vest, greaves and bracers and started to lace them around my body to make sure they were secure. I then began to adhere a series of weights to my arms and legs that weighed a good fifty pounds in total.

  When I had first started my training, the weight I applied to my body was a small token of five pounds. However, as I got older and adapted to the weight, I had to increase the amount in increments each time so I could continue to improve.

  It was a pain to partake in training with these weights on, but with the ‘situation’ I found myself in, it was the only chance I had to raise my combat prowess in the long run.

  After all my gear was affixed in place and I had retrieved my practice sword from the weapons rack next to the storage closet, I made my way to the backyard.

  What was nice about our backyard was that it was open with plenty of space to move around in. It was also adjacent to the Night Glen Forest the Township resided in which allowed ample opportunity to hunt and train in the denser parts of the forest.

  An opportunity that father was more than happy to indulge me with when I asked him for some practical use of my skills. It never got truly dangerous as father was always there to pull me out of trouble when things got too serious.

  Standing to one side of the yard, with his back turned, father waited patiently for me to take my place on the opposite side and get my stance prepared. As I got into position father turned to face me and readied his practice sword as well. Unlike me, he only had to grip his sword with one hand while I used both of mine. Staring at him I steadied my breathing by taking slow deep breaths and when I felt a calm start to take hold of my mind I leapt into action.

  I raised my sword to eye level and charged forward keeping my eyes on my father to watch for any sudden movement that could indicate what action he would take in response to my movements. As I got closer, I lifted my sword and came down with an overhead slash that was met with no hint of a struggle when my father moved with precision and blocked my simple attack.

  I knew this move was not going to do anything, but I went with this approach to feel father out and see just how far my strength had improved since our last bout. I could feel a slight improvement, but it was still many leagues from the strength he possessed.

  As the two practice swords met my father put some strength into his arm and sent me skidding back along the ground. Using the technique, he taught me I made sure to put my dominant right foot behind me to help anchor myself and keep me from tumbling along the ground.

  That tumbling outcome was a guaranteed way to lose the edge in any fight due to the fact that one had to take the time to recover from the disorientation such an action caused.

  As I came to a stop, I raised my sword in front of me as a wall between father and myself while also keeping my breathing steady and focused.

  Keeping my eyes trained on father, I found that he suddenly vanished from my field of vision. Sensing the blade a split second before it intended to connect with my chest, I quickly focused and shouted in my head Parry. I felt my Skill activate as my arms reacted with clear intent and swept the incoming blade away from its intended target.

  However, I knew that my instinctual reaction would cost me as my arms would now be committed to this action for a few more seconds. Seconds, that were nothing to my father as evident when his sword swiftly adjusted course and came around to sweep my legs out from under me.

  Thinking quickly, instead of jumping backwards, I instead jumped forward using the position my sword was in to come at father for a horizontal slash employing the knowledge that his blade was less effective up close.

  Father just smiled as if in approval of my action and simply bent his toros back just a hairs breath from the tip of my sword. He then raised his weapon and proceeded to slam the pommel of his sword onto the top of my head. I cried out in pain from the blow which forced my eyes to momentarily close and at which point I knew the bout was done.

  Sure enough, soon I felt the same pommel, that had caused my head to rock, come slamming into my stomach pushing all the air out of my lungs and causing me to unceremoniously tumble to the ground in a heap.

  As I opened my eyes, I saw the flat of a blade near my head sticking into the ground and the voice of my father saying, “And that is the match, good attempt at closing the distance when I was trying to take your legs out from under you, but you will need a bit more speed if you want such a maneuver to surprise and injure any opponent you use it on.”

  As those words left father’s mouth, he extended his right hand down to me and in response I grabbed it with the arm that was not pinned beneath me and let him assist in pulling me off the ground.

  Dusting myself off I replied, “Yeah…I know. But it was the only thing action I could think of in the moment to compensate for my slipup of using my Parry skill.”

  Father just nodded along and said, “That is a good thing. While using your skills can help in battle; sometimes, they leave you open for a counterattack if your opponent knows how to.”

  “What you demonstrated was the ability to think of how to turn your disadvantage into a moment of opportunity. Your only mistake was overestimating what you are currently capable of.” Nodding along I took everything father said to heart as I knew it could mean the difference between life and death in the future.

  Lifting his arm, father then put his hand on the top of my head and began to ruffle my hair while saying, “I am also proud you were to finally able to keep your stance when I threw you back in the initial clash. You have clearly been hard at work to master that recovery stance I taught you to make sure you are always facing your opponent when exchanging blows.”

  Smiling at father’s praise I simply asked, “Can you teach me some other combat forms before you have to report to the City Watch for the day?” “Of course,” he answered with a big grin on his face.