White.

The first thing I saw

Nothing but an empty, blank space. Nothing. My eyes couldn’t see a thing besides a white world with nothing in it. And in this world, I stepped forward. It felt like I was moving on nothing yet there was something concrete underneath my feet. And wherever I go for how long I’d go, I found nothing. This was an endless cycle of repeating myself over and over and over again.

‘This isn’t the kind of dream I’m used to… what is happening here? Some new kind of dream?’

I was pretty sure that this was all a dream. But I had a slight Deja-vu when I realised it as well. It felt just as real as my usual dream where I had to fight against hordes of beasts with no brain at all… wait! Was I really complaining about the lack of danger from fighting ten thousand beasts that were looking out for my head?

Anyways… besides the odd feeling I now had thanks to myself, I was pretty curious why there was a new dream. Did I level up? No, if so I'd have done so long ago. The only thing now changing is the way the beasts come at me but nothing else, making it easy nonetheless.

"Well! At least having peace and quiet for once doesn't… hurt…"

I looked down and saw myself in a state I never thought I'd be in inside a dream but knew that it was never impossible.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES!!?!"

What the hell?! My clothes seem to have been left behind as a memorial for the old man so he can hang them up to his wall with the title: "best idiot ever!"

…

He'd really do that, wouldn't he?

Well… I guess it's fine as long as I'm alone. And this quiet room wasn't so bad after all!

SHING

Oh no… I jinxed it... Because now something is happening. To be exact, a circle of gold formed in front of me, almost blinding the hell out of me as well. Why do you have to be this bright! Turn it down a notch! Turn it down!

"Ah! There we go! So you can at least listen, unlike some people I know. Now… what are you?"

I looked at the circle with curiosity. Is this what I'm going to beat up next? Alright!... That is what I'd like to say but somehow I didn't feel any hostility from it. So I took a closer look. And boy was I wrong. This isn't a circle.

"Those are rings of runes?"

Golden runes form rings. There were a total of 9 rings and one last rune in the middle that formed the big circle in front of me. And with each ring becoming smaller, the complexity of each rune rose. Oh boy…

"How come this ring has more runes than the one outside of it even when it looks the same size? Hold on… I believed myself to be smart but this logic here is hurting my brain…"

Of course, something had to happen at that moment. Like something always needs to happen and now was the time for it apparently… since with my headache growing, the shine of the runes of the most outer ring did as well. If I looked closely, I could even see the slight traces of gold and black running through those runes.

I'd have loved to admire the view but this god damn headache was going to kill me any moment now! Shit, why does this hurt so much? I started to grunt slowly as my legs were slowly giving up.

The only reason I could even understand that the runes were now slowly moving towards my body was because of that incredible bright shine. And with it, the first ring of the circle broke apart and moved around my body.

I now had a very bad feeling about this. And of course, I had to be right when those runes shot towards my skin, burning themselves into my very existence.

And as you'd guess, this hurt like hell! Like I actually want to cry out loud mama while running between the desert and the north pole.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

WHAT THE HELL! Why does this get even worse? It feels like someone is continuously stabbing me with a five year long roasting knife from the inside out, carving these runes with my blood vessels and nerves! Just stop it!

OH, IT CHANGED TO THE FEELING OF GETTING HIT BY THUNDER AT EACH PART! HELP! PLEASE SEND HELP!

"FUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKIIINNNG HEEEEEEELLLLLL!!! WHY! WH-AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

And now you want me to feel like being vacuumed from both sides, ripping every layer of my body apart from one another?! GO TO HELL WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!

My cries became more and more beastlike as my skin was now fully turned red with the golden runes still attaching to my body. This felt like an eternity and if it wasn't I'll be beating up whoever was behind this! I swear!

My bones broke piece by piece as every fibre of my body started to destroy and rebuild itself over and over again. This wasn't even the most painful part I guess since it started from the skin and went lower and lo-ARGH NOW IT'S MY ORGANS!

And each layer hurt more than the last. My body convulsing uncontrollably was the only thing I could now perceive. I almost wanted to give up here… but almost. Because there was one reason keeping me sane all along.

The hell was I fighting for? For a lofty reason, I could give up just because of pain? Are you kidding me? I WON'T LET OTHERS DECIDE THE FATE OF ME AND MY LOVED ONES! IF I CAN'T GET THROUGH THIS PAIN, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT FATE!

The more my Will power surged, the stronger the effect of the runes became, making me cry out loud even more. But I won't back down! I just won't! You can go and kiss my ass checks if you think this is enough for making me stop!

And slowly but surely, the pain vanished and the glow of the runes faded away. This meant it was over, right? I let my body fall the moment I felt like this was finally over, letting my guard down when I saw the circle vanishing as well.

"Son… hah…of a… what was … hah …that?"

I was out of breath. My body desperately needed some air. Even if this was a dream, I felt like I was suffocating after that! The air in my lungs was already gone the moment my organs started to break down and regenerate only to break down again.

… this must be hell, right? I thought hell was supposed to be all fiery and dark but this was definitely it! And I'll beat the living shit out of the person that did this to me!

I looked at my body while constantly struggling to get more air than I could get. The runes weren't shining now, only having their slight traces of black and dark green travel around them like electric pulses on a circuit board.

And the shape of them felt very familiar yet I couldn't tell from where… did I ever mess with someone with these runes? Have I ever seen these in a book? No… that’s not it

But I could understand one thing. This made me stronger. No. This made my foundation sturdier. I didn't become stronger but my core was sturdier to its current limits, making me even more proficient.

There is something else as well… a part of the so-called library was now open with the knowledge of each rune on my body. I kind of understand where my ability is truly going while also being dumbfounded why I have this extra stuff as well.

"Ugh… I just want to leave for now! Hey! Let me out! "

And with the shining runes gone, an exhausted me sweating his water reservoir for three years out and the golden runes on my body that made me feel like I was in a true Torture Session, the white world slowly vanished as my eyes could only see pure black before opening them back again.

It’s over!

The first thing that greeted me after waking up was never the thing I wanted. I thought maybe an angel with dirty blond hair or maybe some breakfast made by my parents. But no. Instead, it's the old man looking down on me with what looked like handcuffs in his hand. Why do you have that? And the chains? And this barrier magic?

"If you don't want to stay looking like a wannabe rapper, then get those runes off your body! Jeez. First, it's the body of a [Common] grade weapon and now those runes. Just… stay quiet for one day at least, boy."

"What do you think I'm trying to do all the time? Do you think I want to fall unconscious and scream as loud as possible while being tortured with pain making me lose my mind? For fucks sake… wait… did you say [Common] grade weapon as a body?"

For god's sake, this old man couldn’t be more of an asshole after I was in such pain. But what he said made me curious. The body of a [Common] grade weapon? Are you for real?

The old man looked at me like I was an idiot but his eyes showed slight worry… did… did I perhaps scream the same way as in the dream? Was that why that old man had these cuffs and chains? I shouldn’t have lashed out like that…

“...sorry…just… it was very…”

“Painful? I could tell… and yes, I did say that. I am not sure how your ability works exactly but I know for sure this isn’t just understanding weapons as now your body gives a feeling of a [Common] grade weapon. It may be the runes that look like Persian hieroglyphs. Or something similar. But this is part of your ability, that’s for sure.”

“So I really was at fault for this pain?”

“Changing the structure of a body from just organic to a mix of organic human structure to one of a hybrid between human and weapon, Of course, this is going to hurt more than you could think of. But I'm not saying that you are at fa-"

SMACK

"What the hell was that?"

"Don't mind that"

"What a weirdo..."

The old man had a face like he wanted to hit me as well but he held back. It wasn't the time I guess... but having the body of a [Common] grade weapon... This meant that my body could do more than before. I think it would be equal to a level 2-3 [Discipulus].

'Wait! My body got stronger instantly again? NO! Now I have to get used to my new strength again! I could have just waited with my control if I knew this was going to happen!'

"What has happened, happened, boy. No need to fret over it. What is more important is your control over your Will. How do you feel?"

"Besides the pain in my body, the control over my Will seems almost perfect."

"Yes and that is our problem."

"What do you mean?"

Huh? Having perfect control over my Will is a problem? Now were the last ten days worthless? The Trance? What the hell!

"Having perfect control over your will is fine but what you forget is that the pressure leaking out of your body is dependent on your circulation. Right now, you are using your Will like you'd be ready to go to war. This may be the reason why your runes won't vanish at all."

I never thought of that... wait... this is bad. This meant that I had to get used to circulating my Will while sucking in all the leaking ones. Shit... I thought I could start with my ability training now! How long will that take me?

"Now! Change of plans!"

"Change of plans?"

"You probably understood that having perfect control instantly will be bad for you since you still like your friends and don't want them to bleed out of every opening just because you are near to them. Right now, you release the presence of a prince, making everyone else get pressured literally. and giving the fact that those runes only boost that pressure means you have to learn how to properly conceal this pressure and stop leaking Will immediately. That's why we will start with that. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Good. I want you outside the hut in 15 minutes. Go and wash up for now. You reek of metal which I find disturbing on multiple levels…"

The old man was pinching his nose, glaring directly at me with slight animosity. Was I really that smelly right no-URGH! I got what he meant with I should wash up. This is just too much though... Wait! before that, where came all this smell? I must have eaten kilograms worth of metal to smell that much!

I stopped thinking about it. Just gives me more headache than I wish for. I went inside the hut and washed myself before getting out with some sportswear on. I inspected the runes on my body while in the shower and remembered the remark from the old man. Persian hieroglyphics. Huh... weirdly I could understand what was written on them. They all meant words like 'Sharp' or 'Heavy' which would give those meanings to the weapon that has them engraved on them.

'I guess I can figure out what my main purpose is... But I should just leave the hut for now. If I make the old man wait any longer, he will surely hit me again. And these runes won't be of much help in that either.'

Out of the hut, I walked towards the old man who was looking around outside the open field. It looked like he was looking around the forest with just a glance. When I was a couple of metres away from him, the old man looked at me with a neutral face, looking me up and down.

I, as a normal person in our current society, covered myself up with my hands. This was harassment! And I thought you were into women!

"Stop thinking nonsense... I was looking at your Will. And I advise you to try manipulating it and see how it goes. Try to suck in your leaking Will and get those poor tattoos off your face."

Oh! That's right. I should have done that in the first place yet forgot about it. I went a bit back and thought about my Will. I didn't have to get in a relaxing position or hold Keyser for that anymore. I was already aware of my Will. And seeing the black energy with more gold and dark green strands flowing through it like little impulses made me realise again that this is my Will.

Saying I wasn't amazed by it would be a big lie. I mean look at it! it's so beautiful, flowing around my body like a black little gust of wind that carried little gold and dark green flower petals. I was playing around with it like a little child with his new toy.

A ball I created and played soccer with it. A baseball bat I swung around. A boomerang I threw and made it move around in different ways. Heck! I even made little pups.

"That's enough. You're wasting too much Will. Start with the leaking bits of Will now, boy."

Oh right! I had just so much fun that I stopped thinking that I didn't have an unlimited amount of Will. And with that being said, I started concentrating a bit more and felt the leaking Will around me, trying to call it back.

This was harder than creating those small objects. It felt like trying to attach small bits of myself back to their original place. According to the old man, everyone has a different way to do this. I thought of making my pathways a vortex, spinning my Will while moving through the pathways. I felt a slow change and slowly, but surely, the leaking parts entered my body back, circulating their original pathways inside my body.

I opened my eyes again to find my runes vanishing slowly. So that's what the old man. I guess the condition for the runes to show and strengthen my body more than it already is, is to let my Will lose? Weird. I thought this was an effect stuck for the whole time. But I guess this is better. This didn't change the fact that I still had the body of a weapon so nothing lost I guess.

"Alright! Now what?"

"Move around with it. Try to adapt to it like you'd do when you are in school for example. Or with some dirty blonde haired girl~."

"Shut up!"

I didn't need a mirror to understand that my cheeks were getting red. And although I'm used to getting teased, him using the Gina card was something I won't get used to no matter what. Alright. Let's try this.

Walking down the hallway. Greeting Felix. Sitting down at my table. Normal Monday... Oh shit! I think Gina just looked at me. Ayo, is she checking me out? Do I look good? Oh man, I could already feel steam leaving my head.

"Hahahahaha! Concentrate, Boy! You're releasing more Will than normally!"

"Shit! Did that really happen?"

"Yes, it did! But don't worry. Strong feelings affecting your control is normal. But your current control should be enough. Now come here!"

Hearing the old man, I sprinted as fast as possible towards him. The embarrassment from before is really killing me. Someone please just end my life. I can already hear the laughter of my classmates from this… But whatever! It was now precious training time!

"Alright! What are we gonna do? Should I balance on a tight rope while circulating my Will? OH! Or hanging upside down above a lava pit where the rope will snap the moment I leak some of my Will?"

"You come up with amazing ideas for once but no. What we will focus on is to have your circulation become a habit. I planned to make this go on for the time you learn to control your Will but it seems you went ahead and ruined my plans. So to fix all the bad habits that may appear because of your speed, we have to take more drastic measures!

"Dra... Drastic measures?"

I'm fucked. I felt like I would die soon whenever that old man had such a smile.

"Yep! Drastic! It was your hypothesis claiming you will understand and learn better in extreme situations. Now that we know, we will abuse this as much as possible"

I wasn't abusing it! You are the only one that is abusing it so stop saying nonsense and return to the usual mode!

"Now that I look at you, you are using your Will and spinning it through your pathways to suck up the leaking parts, aren't you? Clever and strong but dangerous if you mess it up. Ohohoho~ this is going to be so much fun! Now take your blade with you!"

"What for?"

I was confused. Wasn't I supposed to use my Will alone? What training will have me use Keyser? Ah, man! I don't wanna die so early! At least I'm not complaining that I could use Keyser. So I stretched my right arm out while calling its name.

"Keyser."

SWOSH

"Haaa~! Amazing to look at every time! Now! Do you think you are ready?

I looked at my blade, admiring its sharp edge and its 20 cm long false edge. I had to say this was a beauty. And the black cavalry hilt was fitting perfectly in my right hand. The weight, balance, length. God! This feels just perfect.

"Stop admiring your toy and focus, boy!

"Sir yes sir! ARGH!"

SMACK

"Stop fooling around and focus! Your training is simple. Survive in the wild with only your sword for 5 days while constantly circulating your Will yourself. I'll give you normal challenges as long as you circulate your Will without leaking any pressure and Will but the moment I see you stop it I'll beat you so hard you'll wish that you were never this talented. Now that you are ready, let's begin!"

"Wait! Wha-!!!"

What did he say? Beating me so hard that I wish I never was this talented? Fuck! He isn't serious, is he? Stupid Laith! Of course, he is! We are talking about the old man here. He is the one that used lava as a parkour hindrance when training a [Mortalis] person.

My shocked expression couldn't stay for long though, as the old man appeared right in front of me, placing his palm very gently on my chest. it felt like time was slowed down yet I couldn't even move back or dodge this. And it was at that moment that I had the strongest of Deja Vu's in my life!

"Not again...."

BOOM