“It’s time. The Oracle has awakened”

So spoke a man, with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail behind his head. A mischievous smile played on his mouth, as he listened to the knight next to him.

“Sir Chernokoff, we shall depart immediately. Whose presence has the oracle requested?”

A man in gaudy white clothes embroidered with the royal insignia spoke to the knight, whose green hair fluttered in the wind of the morning sky.

“Duke Vistria sama, your presence has been requested. Follow me.”

The knight walked off, with the blonde man in tow.

They headed into the royal palace, into the dungeon that was hidden from the public. They walked down several flights of stairs. They stopped next to a grand statue, of a man of incomparable valor and charisma, which one can feel by just looking at it. They went behind the grand statue of gold and various other precious stones, and opened a secret door that was a national secret.

The temperature dropped as soon as the stepped in. They walked down the stairs which led into a dungeon like room beneath the statue. The blonde man kept looking around, cautious. But the knight kept moving forward, ignoring the bones and skulls hanging on the walls.

They stepped on to even ground, and there was a door. A door with inscriptions of the stories of the man whose statue was built. As soon as they stepped near the door, a man wearing a black cloak appeared, and the blonde man held his breath, because the intimidation the man released was on a whole different level.

“How is it? The might of a slayer?”

The knight said so to the blonde man, who nodded, trembling in fear from the figure. His mischievous smile was long gone, replaced with a look of nervousness.

The knight spoke something to the man. The figure vanished as if he were never there. The blonde couldn’t help but glance around nervously. The door opened, ominously.

They walked in, into a room filled with white clothes fluttering around ,hiding a figure in the back.

“My god.”

The blonde and the knight went down on one knee, and bowed their head to the woman like figure behind the curtains.

“Duke Vistrias…I have a task for you..”

The figure spoke, in a voice that echoed all around the room, making it seem like it came from all around them. A deep voice, which could make anyone who listened to it have their heartbeats quicken.

“Your wish is my command”

“In the north… Chaos has arisen, a figure, whose destiny is unforeseeable….It’s a danger…Immediate elimination is needed…A boy…with hair as white as snow, and his eyes shine violet….Quickly…Do not fail me…”

The figure collapsed, and darkness enveloped them. Instantly, they were bought to the entrance of the room.

“Sir Chernakoff, prepare the troops. Eliminate any who resemble such a description. This is an order”

“As you command”

Right now, I’m performing dogeza in front of Master. She’s really pissed off at me. Well, I did call her an old hag. Because she really is an old hag! But Master doesn’t forgive. I have no choice to beg for forgiveness.

“Master, I’m really sorry. The demon posse—GufaaaH!“ (Yuuya)

I was sent flying away by master’s fist. Painful.

“Liar. How dare you lie in my presence, you third rate disciple?!!” (Miras)

“Master…Please forgive me. I won’t repeat this mistake. My master is a youthful woman whose beauty charms any those who happen upon it. If you weren’t my master, I’m afraid even I might have tried to court you.” (Yuuya)

Master nods at every one of my lies. Good. She calmed down for now. So it’s time to tell her about my plans.

“Master, I plan to leave Baras tomorrow” (Yuuya)

She looks at me for a while, as if looking at filth. Then she steps forward, and stamps on my head, grinding my head against the floor. Master! It hurts!

“Haaa~? What did you say? I saw your fight with the demon you know? What did you think you were doing? Using your Slayer energy from the get go? And what was that fighting style of yours? Even animals can do better than that.!” (Miras)

“But Master!” (Yuuya)

“Yuuya. You continue to overestimate yourself. You remember your result at the Forest’s test right? Even now, you’ve only gotten a bit stronger. You’ve only got the sword. You still don’t know how to wield it. You remember what happened after the fight right? Your limit of fighting in Slayer form is only 6 seconds. With a lower class demon, you would’ve been wiped out after that 6 seconds. Your endurance is really pitiful. Your mana pool is as unstable, and weak. As your master, I forbid you from leaving the forest without my permission. Understand?” (Miras)

I nod. Because it was undoubtedly true. Last time, I made the very same mistake. I still don’t know the limits of my strength.

“Yuuya, your opponents aren’t gonna be something like those weakling lesser demons. Your objective is inter worldly travel and a strong curse. You think all you’ll be fighting are a couple of demons? Right now, as a foreigner to this world, you are an irregular. I’m sure many countries would have had their Oracles inform them to eliminate you, or get you on their side. This is the real world, Yuuya. Here, with your strength, you are nothing but a pawn.” (Miras)

Master really puts her all into her words. But I can understand what she’s trying to say. If I continue to overestimate myself, I’ll only lose. There’s always someone stronger than you. In this world, even gods can die.

“Yuuya. From tomorrow, I shall personally oversee your training. Come to the village entrance by daybreak. For today, rest.” (Miras)

After giving me my instructions, Master leaves the cabin. She gave me a lot of books to read. It’s all about Slayer basics and Energy control. I engross myself into the first book…

The sounds of birds chirping wake me up. Eh? Did I sleep reading the books? This is bad. It’s already daybreak. I quickly wear my shirt and pants, pick up Rebellion-2 and head out.

Near the gate, I see her. A demon queen. She was glaring at me, with a nerve twitching on her forehead. This is bad.

“Ahahaha~ Master. You sure look beautiful tod—Gufaah!” (Yuuya)

She decks me again. It’s like Spartan training. It hurts Master! She beckons me and quickly dashes into the forest.

I get up and quickly follow. Master adjusts her speed so that I can match it to an extent. I follow behind her, trying to keep my focus on the obstacles that appear.

“Your training is simple. You will attempt to control your energies, then raise your stamina and endurance. Finally you will spar with monsters. Understood?” (Miras)

“Yes” (Yuuya)

I try to observe master, her foot movements when she runs, her tactics when surrounded, everything I can when she’s surrounded by monsters and attacked. I observe everything, since I need to leave here as soon as possible, I need to get as much extra information as possible.

We keep heading into the forest. It’s been almost an hour now. That sound. Is that… water? A river? No It’s much stronger. It’s a

Waterfall.

A waterfall, to the size that makes the tallest waterfall in my world seem like a baby. Humongous.

“Welcome, to the waterfall of death and misery.” (Miras)

What’s with that ominous sounding name?

“Of course, it’s gonna be a symbol of death and misery for you. Ufufufu” (Miras)

I see what you mean. But Master, isn’t dangling me in front of the waterfall a bit too much?!!!

“Train over there Yuuya. Try to control your energies as much as you can, even above the sound of the waterfall.” (Miras)

I can faintly hear her voice from above me. This waterfall is really loud. But I try to focus, nevertheless.

Impossible. This sound is just enraging my Chaos energy more and more. I need to control it. Control ….

*Snap*

The rope snaps, and I fall down. Eh? Was this supposed to happen? I plummet down towards the water, free falling. Its alright. Master will save me. Definitely.

That said, where is master?!!

I crash into the water, and my ribs crack. I spit out blood and I went quite deep into the water. I swim up, and resurface. I can see her. That witch. She’s laughing at me!

“Did I not tell you? The waters are very fast, so they may snap your rope. You need to figure out a way to keep the rope intact and subdue your energies. Don’t worry. A special softening magic has been cast here, so that the most you can get are broken bones.” (Miras)

I climb out of the water basin, without saying anything. One of the healers there heal me. Ah~ Warm. There are a lot of people here, training like me.

I’m back at my spot, dangling in front of the waterfall. I focus as much as possible, in order to control the energies. The books told me that the best method to increase possible time for Slayerification (That’s what I decided to call the changing into a beast) is to reduce the amount of energy I release into my mana pool to the barest minimum possible, and then increase it in equal quantities.

Right. I have a wild fire in my hand. I need to control it. I need to make that wild fire mine.

I start on the dragon energy. I learnt that the energy which made me want to fight was the influence of the dragon, which is always yearning for stronger opponents. That might be a bit troublesome, since if I wanted to fight everyone I meet, it’ll be troublesome for me in the long run.

“Haaah…haah…” (Yuuya)

I’m mentally tired from this training. The noise from the waterfall makes my eardrums almost burst, and the frequent crashing makes my body hurt all over. Even healing magic has it’s limits.

My entire body sore, I slowly walk back to the village.

“Where are you going?” (Miras)

She’s here! She’s here! Ring the bell! The demon queen is here!

“Um…home?” (Yuuya)

“Ufufufufu… how naïve of you, Yuuya. The training’s just starting you know” (Miras)

Uuuu… Master… I’m really sorry for calling you an old hag!

The endurance and stamina training was simple. The first phase was to run 100 laps around the village wearing stone armor, within the time limit. The second phase was to stay in the Slayer form for as long as possible. It has to increase; otherwise she’ll beat me black and blue.

I ran, and ran and ran. I was beyond exhausted, but my willpower helped me to keep pushing forward. Sweat drenched my body, and I collapsed at the 30th lap. A course of 120 km was my best for now. Sorry master..

The second phase was even more tougher. I had to release my energies, and maintain it. My first attempt today was the Monster slaying energy. When I released the pale green energy, I could feel my body getting stronger. My body bulged, and I could feel my teeth becoming canines. The nails grew longer, just a bit, and with my raw strength, I could easily lift my house. Only for 8 seconds though. I’ve learnt my limit in every form.

Chaos slayer: 6 seconds

Dragon slayer: 11 seconds

Monster slayer: 8 seconds

God slayer: Indefinite amount of time

It seems its useless to try and maintain my God slaying state, since it’s true power comes only when I face off against a god. It makes me a bit nervous.

The fighting was more my style. I had to fight against all sorts of monsters, and improve my fighting style. All unnecessary movements had to be cut off, and my movements had to be sharper and faster.

Everytime I made a mistake, master would hit me, and then advise me. I kept fighting, till finally, the day ended. And so I slumped on to my bed, too tired to even pick up the book I was reading yesterday. My body feels sore, and bruises were present all over my body.

And so, days passed, and I spent my days at Baras, training to become a Slayer.