Several weeks had passed since Ela and my aunt departed for Thaloria. In their absence, I focused entirely on mastering the forms and footwork of the four sword styles. Although I had memorized the movements over the past two years, putting them into practice was an entirely different challenge.

  The first style I wanted to learn was the water style, this was because I had experienced the power of the fire style first hand and I wanted to learn how to counter it. There was another reason as well: The water style was mainly composed of smooth footwork and I thought it would complement my ability well.

  My ability was designed for landing critical hits, but without a bow, long-range attacks weren’t an option for me. That’s why I aimed to combine the water style’s fluid movements with two key aspects of my power: the precision for critical strikes and the ability to slow down incoming attacks in my vision, allowing me to dodge them. With these combined, I could deliver devastating counterattacks—a dodge-and-strike technique that would give me an edge in close combat.

  Today, I asked my dad to help me train.

  “Sorry Kael, I was summoned by the adventurer’s guild, it seems like there is some kind of mission. It has been a long time since I was called to the guild, I really need the money, well I will help you some other day”

  He had been helping me train every day since Ela and Aunt Bett left, but it seemed he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. He looked genuinely excited, and I couldn’t blame him. Money had been tight for a while. Our household relies heavily on the money my dad earns from guild escort jobs. While the farm work brings in some income, a single guild mission pays ten times as much. It’s been six months since the guild last called him, and nearly a year since he had an escort job.

  I waved goodbye to him since I understood the severity of the situation after all, I too had worked to get money for my family though our motives were completely different.

  With my father busy, I decided to put sword training on hold for now and head to the village instead. Since turning five, my parents had given me the freedom to visit the village and farm fields—a privilege Ela never had. I wasn’t sure why, but I guessed it was because my fighting skills, especially in self-defense, were stronger. At my age, Ela only knew a few basic spells, and being a girl, they probably thought she was more vulnerable to attacks.

  I left the house and began my stroll to the village. Passing the farm, I noticed familiar faces waving at me. I smiled and waved back.

  I passed by the house of the elf doctor who had once told me about my ability. I’d heard he had just returned from a four-year journey to the elf continent. He left shortly after diagnosing me, but there hasn’t been anyone with abilities since then, so it wasn’t a big deal. Besides, any illnesses were handled by normal doctors.

  Sometime after passing the doctor’s house, I arrived in the village. I carried the sword my aunt had given me, safely strapped to the hilt I’d bought a little later after receiving the sword—just in case.

  When I arrived at the village, I decided to head toward the shops. I still had a few silver coins—given to me by my father’s colleagues on the farm. Three years ago, when their crops were dying, I had used my abilities to fix the problem, and it seemed they hadn’t forgotten. On my fifth birthday, they’d pooled together five silver coins for me, unsure of what else I’d want as a gift. These were good people, always kind and grateful, and I like to help them in the farm, though they’d often ask me not to work with them in the fields. I’d give them the excuse that my master wanted me to train by helping them.

  As I started looking around, I couldn't help but recall my first visit here. It was when I was a baby and when my mother took me out to get some things for Ela’s fifth birthday. If I remember correctly this sword, the hilt and the fire resistant robe my parent’s got me for my fifth birthday was all bought here. Today, though, my focus was different. I was searching for knowledge, hoping to find books about sword techniques that didn’t rely on mana or the established styles I had already learned.

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  I went in to the shop but after skimming around a bit, I got out without buying anything. There were two reason’s for that. The first was that I didn’t find the book I was looking for while the second was that the book’s in this shop were all one gold or more. I asked the shop keeper if there were any books less than half a gold( one gold is ten silver and one hundred copper) but he said that every book in the shop area was more than one gold and in some rare chances it would be one gold. He also told me that if I went to more civilized places than Rivenwood like the Bell kingdom, two months from here , the lowest priced book I would find would be two gold.

  I stepped into the shop, hopeful that I might find what I was looking for, but after browsing through the shelves for a while, my hopes faded. Not only was the book I sought nowhere to be found, but every title here was priced far beyond my means.

  “Is there anything under half a gold?” I asked the shopkeeper, already guessing the answer.

  He shook his head. “You won’t find anything less than one gold around here. In more civilized places, like Bell Kingdom, books might start at two gold, if you're lucky.” I left empty-handed, my dreams of learning new sword techniques temporarily dashed by the reality that there wasn't much techniques without mana.

  After giving up on the books, I wandered through the other shops, casting glances at weapons and armor that glinted in the late afternoon light. Everything I looked at—swords, shields, even simple armor—was well beyond my price range. I sighed, disappointed, until something caught my eye in the swordsman section of an armory: a pair of black leather gloves. They were designed for handling swords, the shopkeeper explained, and priced at just two silver coins. Not much, but useful. I thought of how they could help me grip my sword better during training and decided to buy them.

  I kept browsing the market for a while longer, but aside from food, nothing fit my budget. After buying the gloves, I was left with only three silver coins, and even the simplest items cost more than that. With nothing else in my reach, I returned home with just the gloves in my bag.

  As I made my way back from the village, something caught my attention—a familiar figure rushing along the path ahead. It was the elf doctor, and he was carrying an enormous bag. It seemed like he was heading off again on another journey, which struck me as strange. He had only just returned a week ago, fresh from a four-year trip across the elf continent. Seeing him now, in such a rush, raised all sorts of questions. Why leave again so soon?

  I tried to wave or call out to him, but before I could even greet him, he took off running, his bag bouncing on his back. It was as if he didn’t want to be seen or was in too much of a hurry to stop for anyone. Maybe he was late for a carriage or a meeting. I wasn’t sure, but there was no mistaking the urgency in his steps.

  I watched him disappear down the road and shrugged it off. A few moments later, I passed by the farm. This was one of my favorite places to unwind. On quiet evenings like this, I liked to sit on a small hill near the edge of the fields and watch the sky. The sight of the vast horizon always brought me peace, as if the worries of the world faded into the clouds. There was still time before sunset, so I decided to sit for a while, soaking in the silence.

  After about thirty minutes of enjoying the calm breeze, I figured it was time to head home. The day had been long, and my mind was still buzzing with the things I’d seen and heard. As I approached the house, I noticed something unusual. From a distance, I could hear voices. They weren’t loud enough to make out clearly, but they were definitely coming from the direction of our home. Curiosity prickled at me, and I slowed my pace, careful not to make a sound.

  I crept closer, staying low to the ground, until I could tell the conversation was happening right at the front door. Two of the voices I recognized right away—my mother and father. But there was a third voice, one that felt familiar but I couldn’t place immediately. Instead of barging in, I ducked into a nearby bush, using the cover to get a little closer without being seen. The foliage was thicker than I remembered, almost as if this bush had sprung up out of nowhere, but it served its purpose.

  I strained to listen, catching fragments of the conversation.

  “Are you sure about this?” my father asked, his voice tense, more serious than usual.

  “When do you think they’ll arrive on this continent?” my mother added, sounding equally concerned.

  The third voice, the one I couldn’t quite place, responded, “Yes, I’m sure. But I can’t tell you exactly when they’ll get here. If I had to guess, it’ll take them around six years, maybe longer. The vampire race is powerful, no doubt, but even for them, taking over an entire continent is no easy feat. They’ll have to move through the central continent first. It could take them ten years, maybe more, to reach us.”

  I could hear the heavy sighs of relief from both of my parents. The tone of the conversation shifted slightly, but I was still left with more questions than answers. Vampires? Taking control of a continent? What were they talking about?

  “Thank you for telling us, my friend,” my father said after a pause. “Safe travels on your journey.”

  My mother chimed in with a soft farewell, “Take care of yourself.”

  From my hiding spot, I peered out just as the door swung shut. The man standing outside was none other than the elf doctor. So that’s who my parents had been speaking to. It made sense now; I’d almost forgotten he and my father had traveled together years ago. But why were they discussing vampires? And what did that mean for us?

  As the doctor hurried off down the path, I stayed crouched behind the bush, turning the conversation over in my mind. There was something ominous about the whole thing, and it left me uneasy. Eventually, I shook off my confusion and stood up, dusting myself off as I headed inside.

  When I stepped into the house, my parents were already inside, trying to act as if nothing unusual had happened. But even though they smiled and greeted me, I could see a heaviness in their eyes, a faint shadow that hadn’t been there before. I decided not to press them about what I’d overheard. Instead, I simply nodded, made my way to my room, and went to bed with a head full of questions.

  The conversation about vampires, the doctor’s mysterious travels, and my parents’ worried expressions—all of it weighed on me as I drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER END