Prologue: Promise Of A Dream

On the ground, a man lay. The man raised his arm in a vain attempt to reach the sky. Unable to, he instead reached for the boy that was crying beside his body. His dry lips that were full of cut, twitched, trying his hardest to open it.

"Come.... here."

All around him was a burning and dying forest. Pale withered trees spanned as far as the eyes can see. The blazing flame lit the sky. Anyone would have mistaken it for the break of dawn.

The golden armor he wore was full of dent and scratches. A huge hole in his armor revealed an open wound that stretched from his left upper thigh up to his right shoulder. On his left hand, a decorated golden shield began to crumble. The shield that bears witness to countless battle fell apart along with its master.

His dull golden eyes shimmered one last time like a candle blown by a storm.

His right hand abandoned a glowing golden hammer on the ground to wipe tears off the boy's cheek and gently pulled his head.

In a last gesture of denial, the boy resisted his pull.

"It's....alright. Everything...is..going to be ..alright."

The man word shattered the boy resolve. The boy cried waterfall as he placed his ears on the man's mouth.

"Promise me.." The man whispered to the boy's ear with a sound that could only be heard by him. "Promise me.."

The boy took the man hand and grip it as tight as his trembling hand could. "I promise.... I won't let you down." With a nod and a voice full of confidence, the boy replied.

The boy lets go of the man hand and stood. He ran into the forest with all the might he could muster, leaving the dying man alone. Seeing the boy live and watching as he passed his legacy, relief appeared on the man face.

With a smile, he let out a warm breath out off his cold body.

Chapter 1: The Dream of Adventure

A pair of shining brown eyes emerged from the bushes on a small cliff. The eyes darted from one end the other, observing its surroundings and waiting for the right time. 3 meters below the bushes was a stone road. One of the few in the kingdom that connects the capital with the border directly. It was rarely used, however, for it ran through the infamous bandit pass. No sane person would risk getting ambushed by a group of bandit unless they really had to.

His ears perked at the sound of hooves and carriage wheels.

A smile appeared on his face, hidden among the leaves. He had been waiting for this moment for the last two days.

He reviewed the plan inside his head. When the carriage passed below him he would jump and use his [Monster beheading] skill on the driver. The guard next to the driver will be surprised and he would have an easy kill by slashing the neck. After the carriage stopped, he would have to fight another 4 kidnappers. Then he saves the princess, returns her to the king, and get his rightful reward.

He grinned thinking how the princess would react once he saved her. He ran multiple simulations in his head of how he would act cool and heroic in front of the princess. Maybe even make the princess fall in love with him.

"HEHE. Okay, time to do it." He unsheathed his sword and walked to the cliff edge, but then he realized. In the time he took thinking how in the future he became a king after saving the princess, the carriage carrying the princess had already passed him.

"He-HEY! WAIT!" He shouted in panic.

The kidnapper noticed his presence. "Oy! Someone chased us!" One of the kidnappers spoke to the carriage driver.

The carriage driver took the rein and quickened their pace. The guard on the horse followed suit.

"Oh fuck ME!" The young man cursed his carelessness.He ran along the cliff side trying his best to catch up with the carriage, but between him and a carriage pulled by a horse, there was no competition in term of speed.

He was faster of course.

He leaped from the cliff to the carriage with his sword held high above his head. "[Monster Beheading]!" With some unknown force, he accelerated his fall and slammed his sword into the driver's head. The brute force shattered the driver's iron helm and split his head two right in the middle. The blade didn't stop until it reached the driver's chest.

Before the guard next to the driver could react, the young man slashed his throat, killing him instantly. He then took the loaded crossbow from the guard belt and shot it at one of the kidnappers before he could stop his horse. The arrow went through one of his eyes. The young man quickly turned his body 180 degrees and deflected an incoming arrow.

"Impossible!" The man who shot him remarked in surprise. The young man took the rein of the carriage's horse and slammed the carriage to the side, hitting one of the guards and stopping the carriage.

"Three more to go."

The young man stepped down from the carriage and was immediately greeted by another one on a horse charging at him. He sidestepped and slashed the guard before he could do the same to him.

"Two more."

The carriage door swung open and from it, a huge man in a black cloak came out. The cloak covered most of his body save for his shining bald head and iron gauntlet. "Who the fuck did this?!" The man spoke with a strange accent.

'Foreigner. Nordling, from the accent.' The young man thought.

"He kid! You did this?" The man took the sword from his back while at the same time threw aside his cloak, revealing a full plated armor beneath. "CARL!"

Another cloaked man, the guard that fell from his horse before appeared. "Y-yes Hjal."

"The fuck you doing back there?! Come here and kill this brat!" The man named Carl approached the young man from his left while Hjal attacked from the right. Before they could surround him, he chose to charge at Carl who looked much weaker than Hjal.

Their sword met, but with the sheer force of his swing, carl lost his balance. His sword pierced the body of the stumbling man.

He pulled his sword off Carl's body and did a whirlwind move, thinking that Hjal would take the chance and attack him from behind.

He was surprised to see that Hjal hasn't moved an inch from where he stood.

"Brat, you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that bait?"

"I think your mustache is stupid."

Hjal took a stance, but he didn't move. Theo watched his movement. He knew that he mustn't take his enemy lightly. Even if his enemy is lower leveled than him, his old age meant that he's more experienced.

"Come on Brat! Show me what you got." A very defensive stance.

Theo moved closer, carefully measuring his distance with Hjal. He wanted to make sure how much Hjal was going to move from his original position.

Hjal swung his sword from his right to his left. Theo only leaned his body back a bit to dodge it. Hjal then raised his sword and brought it down on Theo.

'What a strength.' Theo thought.

Theo struggled to hold back Hjal sword. Hjal was bigger, taller, and much more muscular than he was, but even then his strength was unnatural even for a man of his stature. If Theo keeps testing his strength against Hjal he would definitely lose. However, that wasn't what he intended to do. He held out until Hjal used too much force then he backed up.

When Theo backed up, Hjal lunged forward. His excessive force threw him off balance.

Theo took the chance and slashed Hjal side, on a gap in his armor, but due to Hjal thick armor and his aura covered body, his sword only made a small wound on his body.

Hjal turned his whole body and regained his balance. Theo already charged at him when he resumed his stance. He didn't have enough time to defend himself.

"[Serene Slash]" Theo's sword became as thin as a drop of water.

With a swift fluid movement like a water flowing down a river, Theo's sword went through Hjal right bracelet and cleanly cut his arm. A feat not possible without a special skill.

Hjal screamed in pain before his body was kicked to the ground by the young man before him.

When he opened his eyes, the sword's point was at his neck."Mind telling me why you kidnapped the princess?"

"Hehehe...... Why would I tell you?" There was still a look of defiance on his face despite his condition.

"Kidnapping a princess for money alone is suicidal. You must either have a larger plan or you're just part of it."

Hjal let out a small chuckle. "I'll tell you, but answer me first. Why do you want to save the princess?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Saving a princess alone from a group of kidnappers is suicidal. Someone like you should have known that playing a hero is a foolish errand." Hjal mimicked his speaking pattern from before. Theo would have taken it as the last insult the dying old man gave him if not for the old man serious gaze. He gave a gaze of someone curious.

"I'm not trying to be a hero. Being a hero is stupid and too much work. I have a dream, three in fact. The first step of all three is getting prestige, and what better way to get it than saving a princess?"

"Hehehe. Brat, You're not as noble as you look. If only I was like you when I was younger, i would have a better life than chasing a foolish dream of being a hero. Mind telling me your dream?"

"Your reasoning first."

"Answer me first." Theo stabbed Hjal tight. He grunted in pain. "i.... won't answer even if you torture me brat... kill me if you want.. I have nothing left..."

"Fine." Theo raised his sword. Hjal resigns his fate to the young man and closed his eyes, but the sword never came down. "I have many things that I wanted since a child. I have many dreams, but those dreams never stick. Until a few years back, when I found it." Theo sat next to Hjal but kept his sword pointed at his neck. "I want to be strong. I have seen many strong people and creature since I was a child, I've read the stories of warriors of the past and their power, I want to be stronger than any of them. To be the strongest person, no, the strongest living creature that ever walked the continent and beyond."

"Hehehe. Admirable. There are a lot of thing in this world that you can't comprehend brat. Things that are strong beyond reason. I would say that is a foolish dream." Hjal commented after witnessing the young man skill and power first hand.

"Second, I wanted to travel all over the world. Seeing the wonder of this world with my own eyes. The Grand Arena of The Holy Empire. The lush forest Girantine. The peak of mount Teredas. To name a few."

"And the third one?"

"You first."

Hjal took a deep breath. He wanted to know more about the man before him for he had piqued his interest. He closed his eyes and reminisced about what he had wasted his life for. Fighting for a country that didn't appreciate him, marrying a woman that didn't love him, and raising a kid that hated him.

"One month ago. A mysterious man came to my mercenary's base...... Hideout. We were already bankrupt from not getting any job and we have resorted to stealing and pillaging."

"No different from bandit then."

"You could say so. The man offered us a job that was both very risky and very rewarding. He paid each of us 100 gold coin upfront and he promised 10 times more after our job is done. We just have to do what he told us to do. We just have to escort the carriage carrying the princess until it reached its destination. Think about it, we just have to stave off any pursuer be it a soldier or anything and we'll be able to live rich for the rest of our life."

"So you're working for someone else. Who?"

"I don't know. The man was most likely only an agent of an agent."

"Where do you plan to meet?"

"A tavern just before the bandit pass. We hand them the princess and they hand us our money. After that we're going to the bandit pass, move to another country and live the rest of our life a happy men."

"You carry the gold with you?"

"My right pouch. My mates also have it in their pouches. Feel free to take it after you kill me, but first tell me your third dream."

"Why are you so obsessed with my dream?"

"You're a young man with a great talent. I've seen many talented men who wasted their talent on some ridiculous trivial thing."

"Then I will tell you." Theo stood. A confident smile appeared on his face like a ray of sunlight. "I want to have the biggest harem in the world."