Chapter 13: Swordsmen

Michael fell face first on his bed, his shaking legs finally catching rest. The day had continued to be one of hardships, with a training session directly after his meeting with the King. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but he couldn’t fall asleep. Not yet at least.

His eyes drifted towards the large crystal that hung on his belt, which was currently strung across a table. It was a dark green, meaning he couldn’t just whisk away his problems with a simple action. He had to suffer through the exercise for now.

Despite the energy-gifting effects of the stamina crystal, his legs still felt the experiences of the night prior, which slowed his movement significantly throughout the rigorous training. It appeared that Johan simply left it to the excuse of being on watch the entire night, so Michael needn’t worry about the consequences of letting down his guard.

With a grunt, he pushed himself from a kneeling position, quickly rising to his feet as heard the whoosh! Of wood cutting through air. Looking up, he saw his mentor leaping in the air, his sword quickly falling in an overhead strike as he leapt. Knowing he didn’t have time to dodge, Michael rose to meet his blade, angling his sword slightly as he did so.

Johan’s blade glanced off Michael’s sliding smoothly and without resistance, sending him staggering forward due to the lack of resistance. Taking this opportunity, Michael swiftly swung diagonally at Johan’s staggering body, his own wooden blade slicing through the air like a knife on butter. Just as Michael was about to hit…

Johan moved quicker than Michael could comprehend. His figure moved faster than the naked eye could see! Michael stepped back, confused as to why his strike had not connected. Suddenly, he felt a brush of air push him forward, his feet sliding against the ground. Johan was circling around him!

His head followed the wind, then predicted the cause of the wind. Slowly but surely, he stood, his sword raised to his chest as he waited for the perfect moment, when suddenly it came! Catching a tiny glimpse of armor, he readjusted his path, and swung his sword horizontally, swinging in a large swathing arc. This time, it meet tempered wood, a loud Crack! Ringing through the air as he withdrew his sword.

Damn! He cursed to himself, stepping back as he felt the wind grow stronger. He had to think fast, his feet pivoting as he unsuccessfully tried to make more space for himself. However fast he tried to move, his mentor was faster! Quicker and quicker the wind grew, causing Michael to dizzyingly sway as he moved, the wind forcing his perspective from one side to the other, until it finally happened.

Michael managed to react barely in time, bringing his sword up with both hands to cover his chest. Another familiar crack rang out as their sword connected once more, yet neither withdrew their weapon. Johan continued to push on the blade, forcing Michael to his knees as he struggled to keep the weapon at bay. His tutor’s form became visible now, his muscles tensed as he forced his way ever downward. A smirk appeared on his face as he saw the inevitable come to pass. Michael was going to lose!

Michael’s face suddenly contorted into an evil grin. Seeing this, Johan gasped, realizing he had fallen into Michael’s trap! He tried to escape, but Michael quickly pushed his hand forward, channeling thick mana through his arm as a burst of flame escaped it, sending Johan off balance. He instinctively fell on his back, his hands pattering out the flames before the damage was too serious, but it was too late. As he attempted to move back up, he was suddenly stopped by movement on his neck. Freezing, he slowly looked up to find Michael, holding the wooden sword proudly, with unhesitant intent.

Michael took his sword back, spinning it once in his hand as he brought it to his waist, the sound of wood sliding against leather ringing out as he sheathed it. “I win!” Michael said, holding out his arm to his mentor, who took it, leaping to his feet. “Abyss almighty Michael, you certainly got me there!” He was surprisingly nimble for just getting knocked down. “I even used a bit of strength there! Not many can keep up, much more still win in a battle against it!” He raised his hand towards Michael, his palm finding Michael’s disheveled hair as he ruffled it slightly. “I’m proud of you, kid! You’ve worked hard, harder than most, and you’ve learned a lot from me. Of course, you’ve only seen a fraction of my strength, and you have yet to contend with someone even near my own strength, but it is a great start!” He exclaimed, bringing a warm smile to Michael’s face. He had not been given this much praise throughout the entirety of his training, and to be given so was a great honor.

Unfortunately, his grin did not last long. Johan’s face gained a slightly saddened expression, as he paced, almost as if he was giving a lecture. “It’s unfortunate I have only a little time to spend with you. If you were one of the higher tiered magicians, you would have more locally based tutors, but the lower tiered tutors are required to teach the heroes for three months at most, including assignments in the field” Michael’s mouth opened in protest, but Johan raised his hand, stopping him in place. “This is not a matter of unfairness, but necessity. The King cannot afford to keep thirty privately hired tutors for you heroes at once. He may be able to get away with a few using favors, but I am not among those. When the time comes, I will return to the Black Hand, where I will rejoin my comrades in mercenary work.” Michael could see Johan smile at the thought. It seems he’s got some good friends Michael thought, smiling inwardly.

Johan shook his head, shoving his reminiscing thoughts aside as he began walking towards the castle, Michael in tow. “Kid, go ahead and rest up. You get the remainder of the day off!” He said, giving Michael a slap on the back. Michael pumped his fist, and with a soft “Yess!” he jogged towards his room, looking forward to a relaxing evening. Before he could reach the entrance to the castle however, Johan stopped him; “Remember this, we start our assignment tomorrow. I would usually wait on a typical assignment, like the ones your fellow heroes have, but with your class being a Spy, your task is much more time consuming and difficult than usual. You need to be fully prepared for investigation work.” He warned, and Michael quickly nodded before continuing his previous movement.

As Michael walked, his body blazed with a mixture of adrenaline and mana, sending his fists ablaze slightly, which he quickly put out. These previous days had been extremely productive! Hell, if things stay like this, he might be strong in no time! His gait picked up at that, and he excitedly made his way to his room, before falling asleep.

“Move Ken, Move!” Ken was taken out of his momentary stupor as he raised his sword, engulfed in a blazing, bright gold flame. He rolled to the side, dodging a rusty machete as he managed to gather his surroundings. Looking at the wielder of the weapon, he took in the creature’s sickly green skin. Its body was wrinkly and slow, topped with a large, disproportional head. It’s ears were pointed to the point where it looked sharp, and its teeth even more so, showing a surprisingly white pair of razor sharp teeth. “Do goblins have great dental care or something?” Ken shouted, giggling to himself as he blocked a swing from another goblin. He plunged his longsword into its neck, its blood turning into a bright gold liquid as it splattered along the dirt. The goblin fell to its knees, screaming a bloodcurdling cry as it quickly perished.

He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, which appeared to be made of a large beam of bright light as he quickly moved towards the next obstacle. Three more goblins stood in his way, and he saw another begin to nock an arrow to his bow. Not caring to think, he sprinted towards the three fighters, his sword slicing through the air, taking the first’s arm. His movements were continuous and never paused, his sword appearing to cut through the very space itself as the remaining goblins were mercilessly slaughtered. Three more machetes fell to the ground with a Clang!

He caught his breath, slowly leaning to his knees, when he suddenly felt a burning pain in his shoulder! Flinching, he brought it to his face, seeing a fletching sticking out of his skin. That little shit! He shot me! He angry thought, before taking off at full speed, meeting the goblin and quickly ending its measly little life.

He stopped, checking for more enemies before finally relaxing, inspecting his wound. It appeared to have missed any vital points, and he tensed up, preparing himself before ripping out the arrow from his arm. “Aaaaah!” He screamed as the wound opened up more, sending more blood rushing out.

“Give me a second” he heard a voice sigh, before uttering a few unintelligible phrases. His arm then began to heal, the would slowly clearing up, before becoming untraceable, as if it wasn’t there in the first place. Ken looked up towards the source of the voice, finding a familiar face. Before him, emerging from behind one of the many trees that lined the forest, was the soft, caring face of none other than Princess Gwyneth, or Gwen, as she had him call her.

“Really Ken, you should be more careful! You’re lucky I’m here to heal you!” She exclaimed, her hands placed on her hips in mock anger, a smile creeping in on her expression. She broke out into giggles, as another resounding sigh came from behind her.

Stepping out, Prince Arthur held his palm at his face, displeasure clearly on his face. “Sister, why did you insist on coming along? This was supposed to be an assignment, not some pleasurable outing to the countryside!” His voice was lined with frustration, but wasn’t too serious. Ken had learned in the past few hours that they had what some call a “Sibling Rivalry.” He found it quite entertaining to watch.

“Oh I’m sorry” Gwen said, heavy with sarcasm. “I found it difficult to understand that my dearest brother was sooo eager to go by himself with his friend. And besides, you act as if you don’t need me! Maybe one day I’ll stay home and you’ll have an adventure without one of the BEST healers in Aldemar.” She smirked as she said that, and Arthur hung back, his eyebrows furrowing as he turned back to Ken.

“You do have to be careful though, Ken. You can’t just rush into battle, despite your natural skills in fighting. You must be aware of all things that may threaten you, and deal with them accordingly. You can’t just stop mid-battle and expect not to get shot like that! You’re lucky we have my…” he paused, stopping himself.

“Go on…” Gwen said, an evil grin creeping up her face as she saw where this was going. “What’s wrong Art? Afraid of something? Hmmm?” Ken could only describe her posture as that of an evil villain, mid-monologue.

“Argh” Arthur, or Art grunted, flinching at her words. He then let out a sigh, and through gritted teeth, continued. “You’re lucky we have my talented little sister” He got an angry look and turned back towards her “There! Are you happy now?!” She only giggled back, and Ken began to laugh as well.

“A-Anyways,” Arthur said, coughing into his hand. “Let’s continue onwards towards the camp. We need to defeat the Chieftain in order to finish the assignment, and I want to be back in time for dinner. Move!” He gave Ken a light shove, and once again, they were off.

They were not even an hour into the trek when they came upon the camp. It was brimming with hordes of goblins, numbering in the hundred at least. A few tents had been set up, but it seemed that was as far as their intelligence went. The real monument however, was the massive tent set up in the center. It towered over the others, and even reached the height of a few of the trees!

Ken leaned against the back of the tree, careful not to be seen, and whispered to Arthur; “So how do we do this? There’s so many, we’re bound to be swarmed eventually!” He exclaimed, his hand on the hilt of his now sheathed sword.

Arthur merely glanced in his direction, and turned his head. “This is your assignment, and all plans and strategies must be your idea. You need to have experience, not a step by step guide.” And with that, he went back to silently watching the goblins move throughout the camp, clearly disgusted by the goblins, who were currently squabbling near a large cauldron.

“Well, I figured it would be like, twenty or something and we could go in guns blazing, but that seems to be out of the picture.” Ken said, half talking to himself and half talking to the others. “Jes- I mean Abyss, those tents are big! The big one reaches up to the height of the tree- wait!” He exclaimed, an idea formulating in his head. “My sword is sharp enough to instantly cut through the trees here, despite how thick they are! We can use the logs against the goblins!” he said, and Arthur shrugged, staring at him. “If that’s your plan, then let’s go with it. I’m just here to ensure you don’t die.” Arthur said blankly.

Ken quickly rushed towards some of the nearby trees, finding a good angle. The goblins were in a large dogpile now, climbing over each other’s bodies to reach what looked to be a chunk of meat. Ken took the opportunity, and infused mana into his sword, causing the adamantite blade to emit a golden glow. He slowly pushed through the tree, feeling it begin to lean towards the direction of the camp, and finally sliced all the way through!

The tree went tumbling down, perfectly aimed as the thick trunk collided with the heaps of goblin bodies. In an instant, forty goblins were smothered into a thick red paste. The remaining goblins managed to scramble to their feet, only to be quickly cut down by a lightning strike, directed from Arthur. Together, the duo, supported with spells from Gwen, mowed down the remaining goblins, leaving trails of burnt corpses and bright golden blood. Nearly five minutes later, there were only six goblins remaining in the camp, cowering in fear as a lightning bolt burned their lives away.

Ken raised his hands in celebration, his sword extinguishing as he stopped his mana flow. He had done it! His brilliant plan had led to the eradication of the entire ca-

Ken was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound emerging from the largest tent, and the walls of the tent came tumbling down, revealing a ginormous blue skinned creature, wielding a large club. A loincloth covered its lower half, bigger than Ken himself!

“Ken! It’s a Troll!” Gwen screamed, her hands widening. “Blinding Light!” she shouted, sending a blast of bright light towards the troll, instantly sending it staggering as it shielded its eyes. Ken used this time to retreat back to her, and Arthur quickly joined him. Meanwhile, the Troll regained its sight, and spotted the trio, lumbering its way over to them. Its club slammed into the ground, sending up a spray of dirt and gravel. Ken moved away, coughing as he readied his sword, igniting it and slashing the leg of the huge creature.

The sword managed to pierce its flesh, but barely managed to make a scratch, only leaving a long golden gash along its leg. The golden blood, brought by Ken’s sword, showed just how little he had managed to damage the beast, and he panicked, his head looking up just in time to dodge the club that was aimed for him.

Arthur sent blast after blast of lightning at the Troll, turning a portion of its hip into blackened ash, but found he could go no further. He ran back towards his sister, finding her behind a tree, deep in focus. “Trolls have a large amount of natural armor, enough so that most weapons can’t pierce through its hide. If we can use something strong enough to pierce its skin, we can kill it. We just need to slice its throat!” She was frantically shouting to him, unused to fights like this.

Arthur turned back towards Ken, who was circling the Troll, making tiny gashes into its legs as he ran. He moved quickly, sending a lightning bolt into the Troll’s eyes, blinding it once more. “Ken! We have to find a way to get to it’s neck! You’re the only one who can cut that thing!” He screamed the information, before pushing out his hand “Thunder Sphere!” He shouted, sending a small ball of electricity towards the troll. It was not concerned at the puny ball however, but as soon as the ball touched it, it burst, sending paralyzing electricity throughout its entire body.

“Dammit! I used a lot of mana there!” Arthur yelled, but Gwen soon came into play, casting Mana Gift, refilling a small portion of his mana. “This is what I get for not bringing crystals!” He shouted, and readied another Thunder Sphere. This time though, the Troll was ready for the attack, and swatted away the orb with its club. Arthur ran between its legs, his sword swinging at its ankles, but it didn’t break through, merely glancing off its skin. It seemed the most he could do was distract it for the time being.

Ken hid behind a rock, his sword in his hands as he shook in fear. He wasn’t anticipating something like this! Not now! He glanced over, seeing Arthur distract the troll, and he quelled his shaky breath. He was afraid, and he knew that, but he had to push forward, so everyone could get out of there alive!

He waited a minute, until the opportunity finally arose! The troll swung its club back down, leaning over to plunge it in the dirt as Arthur dodged. Ken took off running, jumping on its back as it bent over to grab its club. At the moment he jumped on, the troll tried to jerk back, but Ken was stuck fast. Hanging onto its shoulder, he managed to climb to his feet, and leapt forward, plunging his blade into its neck. He slid sideways, opening it even further, before tearing down the flesh of its body as gravity took place, creating a large vertical gash from its neck.

The troll keeled over, golden liquid spouting from its neck and mouth as it struggled for breath, slowly choking on its own blood. Ken took this opportunity to create deeper cuts through the rest of its body before finally, the beast fell face first into the dirt, its breath nonexistent.

The beast was dead!