Chapter 10: Moving Up

Michael sat in front of a large bonfire, warming his hands in the castle courtyard. It was a custom with Johan to build a fire using his magic, making everything into training. A wooden short sword lay by Michael’s side as he sat, warming his hands from the cold chill of the morning. Michael had already begun training a few hours earlier, but they abruptly stopped after Johan received a message.

Michael heard the crunch! Of footsteps coming from behind him, and spun to watch Johan emerge from one of the many archways that led to the courtyard. Michael grabbed his sword and jogged over to him, ready for any torturous exercise he was going to inflict upon him. Instead, Johan merely shook his head and grabbed Michael’s sword, taking it out of his hands and dropping It on the ground. Upon seeing Michael’s confused look, he slapped Michael in the back and led him towards a familiar building.

Michael stepped inside, seeing the familiar face of Charles, the blacksmith. Michael didn’t say anything, but his curiosity was clear on his face. He turned to Johan, who simply nodded back at Michael, a knowing grin on his face. Charles stepped up, a long bundle of cloth in hand, and handed it to Michael. “There ya go kid, a fresh sword, right off the anvil! It be one of the finest swords ye can find in tha’ continent!” Michael took the sword from Charles, seeing the proud grin on his face, his chest puffed out in pride.

“I- I was not expecting this to be so soon!” Michael stuttered, taken aback by the circumstances. Time had certainly flown by, four weeks passing by in a flash. It had only been two weeks since the demon attack, and four more since he had arrived in this world. The halls of the castle had grown quiet with the lack of heroes, as all had been engrossed in their training.

“Kid” Johan started to speak to Michael, placing his hand on his shoulder. “You’ve proven to be one stubborn son of a bitch, and that’s what I like about you. Usually my students can’t last the entire four weeks without stopping, but you, you’ve done all of that and more. In four weeks alone you’ve learned to fight with a sword, and you’ve learned to cast magic. You deserve that sword, more than any of my past apprentices did. Be proud, kid.” He let out a smile, a sight that, by itself, surprised Michael more than anything else. Johan barely let out much emotion around him, mostly staying a vicious, monotone drill instructor. To see a reaction from him nearly brought a tear to his eye, which he had to force down.

Michael unwrapped the cloth, revealing a sparkling platinum sword. Rays of light shone off the edges as he spun it in his hand, appreciating the fine craftsmanship and skill put into the sword alone. He rubbed his finger along the edge softly, shocked to discover that small, careful movements still drew blood. His eyes moved downwards, to the hilt, wrapped in a black-stained leather. Grabbing it by the hilt, he swung it through the air, careful to avoid the other people. The sword was perfectly balanced. Not too heavy, and light enough to move nimbly while keeping balance.

The thing that caught his eye however, was the white, transparent crystal that was embedded in the blade, near the hilt. It was outlined in a gold border, as if it held more significance than a decorative touch. Seeing his curious eyes, Charles spoke up, moving his hand towards the crystal. “Figured you’d ask about this. This crystal here is a drained mana star. It’s pretty rare, but it’s renewable, so the kingdom doesn’t mind using it on the heroes’ weapons. Essentially, the point of the crystal, other than making the sword look expensive, is to imbue the weapon with magical energy. You put your mana in there, and your sword will take on the attributes of your mana. For example, if a lightning mage wielded this sword, the sword would have different abilities based around lightning. It’s pretty much different for each person.”

Michael nodded, and Johan took out his own sword, revealing a similar crystal at the bottom of his blade. “We may both be fire mages, but our abilities are different. When I imbue my sword with mana, it summons a phoenix that fights alongside me.” He sheathed his sword, instructing Michael to do the same.

“Training’s over”

Michael took a step back in surprise. “What do you mean training’s over?” he asked, his face scrunching into a frown. Michael had only been training for four weeks. He may have learned a lot of things in that short amount of time, but it was still only rudimentary. He had mastered the basics of fighting, and not much else.

“It’s better to learn in the field. We will no longer have training here on the castle grounds. The King has decided to put your abilities and mine to good use. As for what we’ll have to do, I do not know. He’s summoned us tomorrow at noon, so I’m sure we’ll find out then.” He stepped forwards, patting Michael on the back as he stepped out of the building. “Before then, you’ve been chosen to watch over the demon for the night. After that, We’ll let you rest until our time to meet the king.”

Seeing Michael go silent, he sighed, stamping his foot. “You don’t have to worry, Kid. According to reports from the other heroes, the demon has stayed silent, and even if it didn’t, we can’t understand their language anyways. It’s also severely injured, so it won’t try anything. You’ll be fine.”

As he walked away, Michael could only think to himself, his heart beating faster and faster. The only thing he could think of was the ocean of blood and violence formed on that day, formed by the bare strength of the demon that he would be watching over. With fear quickly tightening his chest, he could only think of one question:

Will I really be alright?