Chapter 17

The sun slowly came over the horizon as Hiro woke up from his slumber. “Leo was quite comfortable to sleep on. His fur was soft but his body created a lot of heat. Hiro stood up up yawned and stretched his arms. “Well I guess it is time to begin my training. I guess I’ll start with the basics my calesthenics pushups, sit ups, and squats.” Hiro got into his position and began doing his sets of pushups, situps, followed by squats in sets of 50.

"I hadn't noticed but even with my heavy sword and gauntlet on this is not as difficult."

Soon he had completed 400 reps of each exercise was but Hiro felt that he had not reached the extreme level of fatigue he sought during his workouts.

“I guess my strength, vitality, and stamina increases are showing even more now. Better do more to keep myself advancing."

He continued with several more sets of each exercise until he had reached almost 750 of each. On his last squat he bent his knees and dropped his body down. When he reached the lowest point his body could go, he felt all of the fatigue he had built up until this moment rush over him like a wave. He strained his muscles to continue. His muscles were screaming for him to stop but Hiro would not quit. He bit his lip and looked up at the sky. His legs quivered as he began to stand. Hiro used every last ounce of strength“AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" he grunted as he finally stood up straight.

Hiro immediately collapsed onto his knees from the strain he had placed on his body. His muscles were aching and he was sweating like crazy. "Now I’ve worked up good sweat, it is time to recover using my meditation.”

Strength stamina and vitality increase by 5.

He sat down to meditate. During his meditation he noticed that his sense presence ability had improved by leaps and bounds. “I can now sense everyone in the town and he could even determine who was who. It was amazing. He could feel everyone’s presence and the radius of the skill was now big enough to cover the entire town.” As he meditated he visualized himself moving the ki around his body using smaller, smoother, more controlled motions. No longer did he have the sloppy movements of the past but now it moved in a smooth motion like electricity passing through wires. His ability to manipulate his ki had developed dramatically. He felt like he had complete control over it.

“Now to train this skill a little. I need to move the ki around into the smaller body parts.” First the ki moved to his hand then he tried to move it so that it went into his fingers one at a time. His brow began to sweat as it required a lot of concentration to accomplish these small movements. He then moved his ki up into his ears. When he did it all of a sudden he could hear everything. He could hear Leo’s heartbeat. It was beating so fast even though he was resting. He could hear the townspeople talking. “This is amazing. I can even augment my senses with my ki. “I wonder what else I can do” He decided to try something new.

Ki manipulation increased to level 9

Hiro thought of some of the television shows and characters he had seen in the past. They were able to actually manifest their ki into physical external attacks. Hiro started with trying to move his ki from inside his body outward into the palm of his hand. Little by little the ki began to manifest in his hand. The ki was about the size of a golf ball but its shape kept fluctuating. “This won’t do. I need to make it into a shape that I can use like a ball.” Hiro closed his eyes and imagined it as a ball. When he opened his eyes it looked like a ball but it not perfectly round. It was taking a lot of concentration to manifest the ball and to make it take shape. Hiro looked up at his ki and to his surprise the mana had been reduced to one half of its original amount. “What in the world?! I didn’t even do anything except manifest my ki and that small ball took that much of my mana away.”

He sat and thought for a moment. “Oh yeah. That’s right! The skill said that I need to be on the master level before I can manifest my ki outside of my body. So I guess it didn’t mean that I could do it. It must have meant that I shouldn’t do it because of the strain it would put on my mana reservoir.” Hiro decided to come back to it later after he had leveled up his ki manipulation skill a little more.

After sitting and meditating for a few minutes his mana level had returned to its maximum. Hiro focused the maximum amount of ki he could into his legs then he whistled for Leo. Immediately, Leo came running and Hiro took off running. Hiro ran as fast as he could in attempt to outrun the big cat. He was able to get out to a comfortable heads start but Leo’s speed was way too much. Even with his speed being augmented by his ki, he was unable to outrun Leo.

“Did he get even more powerful once I tamed him? Our difference in speed wasn’t this big before.”

They continued these sprinting contests for awhile. Hiro would run until Leo caught him and then Hiro would command Leo to stop.After Leo caught his breath they would repeat the same thing. After about a half hour, Hiro’s stamina was completely exhausted. While he rested to recover his strength, he noticed that his ki had barely drained his mana at all. It was amazing. He could now try to maintain it longer during the day. The fruits of his training continued to amaze.

Beast taming improved level 8

Ki manipulation improved to intermediate level 1

Improvement grants 10% decrease in the mana needed for ki based skills and you are now able increase your strength and speed by up to 300% for a short time using your ki. Be careful as the side effect of this tremendous power increase will cause a great amount of pain to your body.

After all of the morning’s training, Hiro was a bit hungry and he assumed that Leo would be as well. “Instead of going in the town let’s go hunting buddy.” Hiro decided to see how well Leo could fight in battle and test out his absorption ability.

“After we kill a few things I should be able to eat something.”

He gestured for Leo to sit down then he jumped on Leo’s back. He activated his detect presence skill. He noticed that there were no enemies within 1000 meters of his location so he clicked his heels and turned Leo towards the north. Hiro was still not accustomed to Leo’s speed so he ducked his head behind Leo’s and kept a tight grip on his mane. As they ran Hiro continued to try and detect the presence of some enemies.

After a few minutes of running Hiro found the presence of what he thought were orcs and goblins. Hiro clicked his heels and pointed Leo in their direction. It seemed like they got there in a flash. Hiro dismounted and signaled for Leo to lay down.He confidently walked up until he was in eyesight of orcs. He noticed that there were 10 orcs and 8 goblins. He continued to walk forward as to grab their attention. The monsters noticed him and charged. The orcs had some decent weapons. A few had shields and short swords, others had axes, and one had a decent looking spear. The goblins on the other hand had no armor and crude wooden clubs.

As they got close Hiro pointed directly at them and whistled for Leo. Leo immediately leaped out from behind Hiro and growled using Liger’s Roar. The enemy orcs were completed terrified. Some stopped running and others were so afraid that they dropped their weapons and were frozen in place. Hiro told Leo to get them by taking his thumb across his neck in the universal sign for kill. Leo attacked the ones who were not frozen in place. The goblins that were running away could not outrun him and he slashed their backs with his claws causing them to fall. When he slashed them deep gashes opened up in their flesh exposing their insides. Those that did not die instantly screamed and began bleeding profusely. Once over top of them Leo would bite down with his massive jaws and rip the monsters apart. After finishing his meal Leo roared loudly.

Now that all of the ones who could run away were taken care of Leo walked back and began to kill those that were frozen in fear. He quickly tore every one of the orcs and goblins limb from limb. After killing all of the orcs Leo began to eat their flesh. It was a truly gruesome sight but Leo was after all a wild animal and hopefully Leo would be able to learn some new skills. “That was impressive. It was even louder and more fearsome than when I fought you.” Hiro patted Leo on his head in approval of his partner’s strength. Leo purred affectionately at Hiro.

You and Leo have learned orc language. You will now be able to understand the language of the orcs.

You learned the goblin language. You will now be able to understand the language of the goblins.

Beast tame increased to level 9. You can now speak one word phrases to your pet and he will understand. You no longer need to use hand gestures.

This was too cool. “I thought I could only learn fighting skills from the monsters he ate. Being able to learn a language will be useful as well. Hiro was thoroughly satisfied with Leo’s fighting ability and his absorption ability was even more intriguing. He had truly gained a wonderful ally. He went over and took any weapons and armor he could from the dead orcs and put them in his magic bag. He Then he jumped back up on Leo’s and they travel back to the town.

Beast riding increased to level 4

Upon arriving at the town Hiro told Leo “Wait” so that he would wait for him at the gate and he would return soon. Leo sat down in the high grass near the entrance to the town. “That was great I can already verbally communicate with Leo. Not to mention I am beginning to understand what Leo’s roars, growls, and other sounds meant. Their bond was already improving in the short time they were together.

As Hiro walked into the town, he heard the sounds of weapons clanging. He grabbed his sword and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the battle sounds. “I must have been out to long. Could it be another attack? Could it be more orcs, goblins, or something even worse?” Hiro increased his speed by using his ki on his legs. Upon reaching the place where he heard the sounds, Hiro became embarrassed. It was only weapon training by the army.

Once he arrived at the army training area, Snow yelled out, “Welcome Commander!” Immediately all of the troops stopped and stood in the attention position with their weapons in a resting position. Hiro walked closer and he saw Snow in front of Kaura and about 10 other teenagers. There were 4 girls and 6 boys. They all looked young and very frail but their eyes told of their strong determination.

“I see we have some new recruits.”

“Yes. They are young but they all have the eyes of hungry lions waiting to devour anything that comes to attack their home.”

“I like that.”

As Hiro walked through the troops to Snow each soldier bowed his head. He was a little embarrassed by all of the attention but he decided to be more confident and began to address them. “We will train together under Captain Snow to get stronger! We will fight together to protect our home and loved ones!”

“Yes Sir!” the soldiers replied.

“To accomplish these things listen to Snow and train your bodies and minds to be in the best possible condition at all times.” Everyone cheered as Hiro walked closer. “I also have some presents for you all. I grabbed them from some orcs who no longer need them.”He opened his bag and gave each of the new recruits the weapons and armor he had taken from the orcs Leo killed earlier in the morning. A taller very pale skinned boy took the axe and a very tall darker skinned girl took the spear. The rest took the shields and short swords. Now their small army was equipped.

“Now captain can we proceed with weapon training?”

“No!”

“What shall we do then captain?”

“It is simple. You all will become warriors by learning to fight using your body first. The basis for all combat is empty handed fighting. You must master your own body before you can make a weapon a part of it.”

“Agreed, please take care of us Captain.”

“GRROOOOOWWWWLLLLL!” Hiro’s stomach let out a huge sound. Everyone including Hiro laughed hysterically. Hiro looked towards the ground and felt a little embarrassed. He remembered that he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

One of the recruits whispered, “Here sir take this. It isn’t much but it will hold you over until you can get something else.” He handed Hiro a few bits of something that looked similar to jerky.

“Thank you”

“You are welcome sir.” Hiro quickly devoured the jerky. His hunger subsided and

“Line up!” yelled Snow.

The group lined up with Hiro and Kaura in the middle.

“Watch and observe as I demonstrate the beginning of your fighting form.” The group looked on transfixed as Snow began his movements. Snow moved from left to right blocking and striking at an imaginary enemy. He used all sorts of different attacks including kicks, elbwos, punches, and even knees.

Hiro thought to himself, “He looks like my master in the dojo doing a kata. This is the only part of martial arts I was any good at because I could quickly memorize the movements. Unfortunately my balance and coordination was so bad that I could not perform the moves well.”

The group was in awe as Snow’s large body looked so elegant and graceful. He made every movement intentional. Every strike and block looked like he was facing a real opponent. When he finished his last movement, he placed his hands at his side and bowed towards the group. Everyone clapped in approval of their trainer’s magnificent skill.

“Now that you have seen the skill you will perform it with me until you have memorized the movements. When I count you will move. Remember to breathe out whenever you hit or block. This will help you maintain you focus and stamina during battle. Begin!”

“1!” Hiro and the group followed Snow blocking an attack from below then punching

“2!” The group returned to the center.

“3!” The group turned right and blocked an attack coming from below.

“4,5,6!” The group jabbed, hit with a cross, and then a front snap kick.

“7!” The group returned to the center.

“8!” The group ducked under an imaginary attack.

“9,10!” The group through a leg kick followed by an elbow.

“11!” The group returned to the center and bowed finishing the kata.

Due to learning a system of skills to defend yourself from an enemy your unrefined skill of unarmed combat skill has evolved into martial arts.

Martial arts skill now novice level 1.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Martial ArtsNovice120%You have now learned the basics of an ancient art form for self-defense. Each level you gain will grant you a 1% increase to your attack

Hiro and the group continued to practice the kata over and over as Snow walked around stopping them and adjusting stances, fixing improper defensive posture, and attack placement. After about an hour went by and Snow decided to give the soldiers a lunch break.

“Attention!” the group lined up and saluted Snow.

“You will now have time to go out an eat lunch. You have 1 hour to return. When we resume this after, we will begin with body strengthening training. Dismissed!”

The group quickly dispersed.

“Thank you Snow. This was definitely good and I look forward to the improvement that our army makes while you are training them.”

“They are doing well so far. I did not expect that they would be able to keep up with pace I’ve set. Seeing their home ravaged by those monsters must have really strengthened their resolve.”

“I can see that. Well I will be off now as body strengthening exercises are something that you have already taught me. I will return each day during the weapon and empty handed training sessions.”

“I agree. It would be best for you to test your limits using your ki in anyway you can manage. Keep trying new things. The sky is the limit for your abilities. Good luck and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Continue training them for the rest of the week. At the beginning of the next week I would like to make our way to the forest so we can set up a logging camp. The wood produced should help us to rebuild the town.”

“Do you think that is enough time?”

“No, but we don’t really have another option. We need to rebuild these buildings and to make a defensive wall around the town. The only way to do that is to get wood.”

“If we must, I will do my best to get them ready.”

“Thank you.”

Hiro walked off and went into the heart of the town. Near the north end of the town he saw Korin and Rain. They were standing in front of a line of children from ages 12 to probably 17. Korin waved Hiro over. Hiro came over and discussed what Korin and Rain were doing.

“I would like to have a unit that acts as a support unit for the melee part of our army.”said Korin

“In order to determine magical ability we have to perform a test using this cube. If a person has magical ability the cube will react and change color. White meant that person had an affinity for healing, red was fire, blue was water, green was wind, brown was earth, purple was lightning, and black was dark magic.” Said Rain.

“Only one of the children had magical ability at this time. The child’s name was Galen and his affinity was healing and lightning magic”, said Korin.

“It was great because Korin and I both know those so we have much to teach him.”

Hiro smiled and said, “Train him well. I want to test myself. Do you mind if I try?”

Korin smiled, “Sure why not. Just place your hand on the cube.”

Hiro placed his hand on the cube. The cube reacted and turned completely red. I guess that means that I have an affinity for fire. Then suddenly the cube turned a very dark green.

“You have the affinity for wind and fire. That is good. Having an affinity to more than one element allows you to become a powerful mage with some training.” Said Korin.

“Really? Well… do you mind if I come here and practice while you train Galen?”

“Sure. The more the merrier. I will teach you all that I know.”

“Thank you Snow. I will see you guys tomorrow.”

Hiro then strolled around the town for a little longer and found one building that was not a broken down as all the others. It had some sort of logo on the front. From his extensive knowledge of games he recognized that the symbol was for a genral store. “This is great because general stores sell all sorts of tools.” Hiro knocked on the door. As he knocked, the door slowly creaked as it opened.

“Is anybody here?” asked Hiro.

“Yeah. I’m here”, said an older gentleman who appeared from a room behind the counter.

“Are you the owner of this shop?”

“Sure am.”

“First let me introduce myself. I’m..”

“I know who you are. You’re that kid who defeated the monsters that invaded our town.

“How did you know?”

“Eveyone’s been talking about how you helped to kill that troll and how you killed so many of those goblins and orcs. I don’t have much inventory at the moment but how can I help you?”

“Do you have tools for working with leather and blacksmithing?”

The shop owner replied, “yes I have some different kinds of thread and needles for leather working. I also have a hammer and some whetstones for blacksmithing. You might also want to buy a skinning knife to help you skin the beasts you defeat and a pick axe to mine materials for blacksmithing.”

Hiro nodded and said,”How could he afford those things when he had no money.” He asked could he trade for them?

The shop owner nodded, “What do you have?”

Hiro pulled out the 2 pairs of leather gloves and handed them to the shop owner and about 10 pieces of leather that he had gotten while skinning varioius monsters in the wild.

“Hmm these things aren’t worth very much but for the Hiro of our town I think I can make an you a deal.”

“What do you need me to do?” asked Hiro

“Let’s give you a test run. Bring me back 20 bloody vulture talons. You bring back the talons and I will take them as payment for the supplies you asked for.”

“Ok. I’ll be back soon.”

Hiro left and sprinted outside the town. “Those vultures are easy to find because they go wherever they find something dead. I know just where to find them.” When he reached the entrance to the town, Hiro whistled for Leo. Leo came running and Hiro jumped up on his back. Leo charged ahead while Hiro steered him in the direction of where they killed the goblins and orcs the previous day. Since he had not burned the bodies he was sure that the vultures would be there trying to get a meal. As Leo ran, Hiro’s sense presence skill confirmed his suspicions. Unfortunately there were more vultures than he had anticipated.

There were about 20 vultures there at the site. They were all eating away at the meat that Leo did not devour. They picked at the bones and fought each other over the scraps of meat that remained. As they got closer Hiro told Leo, “Roar!” Leo let out his Liger’s roar and it did its job. It paralyzed about half of the vultures in fear. The other half began acting wildly or they simply flew away. “I’ve got to kill them quickly because if the get free from the fear they will definitely escape.

“Kill!” Hiro said as he dismounted Leo.

Leo rushed ahead and slashed several of the birds that were frozen in fear knocking them over and killing them. While Hiro dealt with the grounded birds. Hiro lifted his hand and cast his bind spell on the birds that were trying to fly away. He cast the spell on each of the birds. Each time his spell was was successful one of the birds dropped from the sky because its wings could no longer move. The impact when they hit the ground was devastating. Several of the vultures died on impact those that were left found themselves at the mercy of Hiro’s blade.

Bind spell reached novice level 1. You can now bind up to 2 targets at a time. The number of chains that surround the target will be 4 making it very powerful. In addition the duration of the bind has increased from 20 secs to 25 seconds and the mana cost for casting has been reduced by 10%.

Hiro and Leo made short work of the vultures killing all but 2 of them. The 2 that escaped were at too great a distance for Hiro’s bind spell to be successful. Once they were all dead Hiro quickly skinned them and then cut the feet off of each one. He had collected 36 talons and 18 pieces of leather. “This should satisfy the shopkeeper.” He placed everything in his bag and told Leo, “Eat”. Leo quickly ate 5 of the vulture corpses. Hiro waited to see if he learned anything but he did not. I guess maybe I learned everything I can from them. Hiro put the rest of the corpses in his bag and mounted up on Leo’s back. “Go!” Hiro shouted and they were off.

Shortly after they started running, Hiro’s stomach began to growl again. He wanted to eat but thought he should go back and get the supplies he needed first. About 20 minutes later they returned to the town. Hiro told Leo to stay at the front gate and then rushed back to the general store.

“I’m back!” Hiro said to the shopkeeper.

“So soon? I guess the vultures were too much for you, huh?”

“Actually I have what you asked for and more.”

“Really!? Show me.”

“Hiro opened his bag and pulled out 36 of the talons.”

“Not bad kid! Well a deal is a deal.”

He gave Hiro 20 pieces of coarse thread, a pickaxe, skinning knife, a hammer and 20 whetstones.

"You must be the young man all of the people are so up in arms about." said the shop owner.

Hiro sheepishly replied, "Yeah. The people look at me as there hero after I helped to stop an invasion."

"Yeah. I know that part but you don't look like much of a warrior to me. In fact you look like a wet-behind- the-ears newbie to me!"

"What?! What are you talking about old man?!" yelled Hiro.

The man walked up to Hiro and suddenly Hiro could sense a huge amount of murderous intent. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he felt goose bumps all around his body. His sense danger skill was going crazy.

(i)Is this coming from this old man? What the hell is going on? (/i)

Hiro activated his ki and his aura came out. The old man's eyes didn't even blink. He only moved closer to Hiro. Hiro boosted his power to its max but the man kept coming. When the old man was within arms length he took a deep breath and suddenly his power shot up.

(i)It's so strong I can barely breathe. It's like it is suffocating me. Who is this old man?! (/i)

"Enough I concede." Hiro said as he put his hand up.

The old man opened his mouth but suddenly began violently coughing. Hiro rushed to the man as his aura had disappeared. The man fell into Hiro's arms. Hiro quickly took out one of his healing potions and poured it into the old man's mouth. He quickly stopped coughing and stood up.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you. I should not have done that. I was once one of the protectors of this village and a general in the King's army."

"Pleased to meet you.You are incredible! I couldn't imagine that their was someone as powerful as you in this village."

"I am not nearly as powerful as I used to be. This is only what is left of my power."

"What's left?! You mean you were even more powerful than you are now?"

"Yes this is only a fraction of my power. Unfortunately, years ago I was poisoned by on of the great dragons. I went to healers all over the world and I none of them could heal me. So over time the poison sapped my strength, stamina, and decreased the strength of my heart. Anytime I use my strength it puts too much strain on my heart."

"Then why did you show me your power? I mean that could have killed you."

"After hearing the tales of your adventures I thought I would test you because I have been searching for a successor to my own style of martial skills."

"You mean.."

"Yes Hiro I think you may have what it takes to be my successor in the lightning style of martial arts."

"Are you serious? I mean your power is unreal! You could teach me to have power like that?"

"Yes. You are already the protector of this village but you have not seen the true evils of this world. As you are you and your army are no match for what may come. I will train you so that you can defend this place."

"Thank you."

"From now on you will refer to me as Master!"

"Yes, Master. When shall we begin my training Master?"

"First tell me about the healing potion you gave me. I feel better than I have in a long time. Where did you get it?"

"I made it master. I have practiced making these potions over and over again and little by little my skill has improved until now. The one I gave you is one of the best ones I have made so far."

"Hmmm... You are even more talented than I thought. You may one day even be able to cure me. To do that you will need the strength to stand up to the dragon that poisoned me."

"Teach me Master and I will slay that dragon and cure you."

"HAHAHAHAHA! Cocky little brat! I like you though. Before we begin with your training give me a few days to make some preparations. In a week come to this shop and I will leave directions for you to come to the training grounds where my master taught me."

"Yes Master."

“Hey kid, I want to give you this book as proof that you are my pupil.”

“What is this master?”

“You have never seen one of these before.”

“No sir. Sorry I haven’t. “

"Well I would imagine you wouldn’t my apprentice. This is a weapon skill book. It gives you the ability to learn new weapon skills and advance them using a weapon experience method.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well basically each time you kill something with a weapon you will get weapon experience points. If you gain enough you can improve your skills with a weapon and gain extra points towards your status and possibly learn new skills.”

“Seriously!? Hiro bowed graciously, “This will help me greatly in improving. How can I ever thank you?”

“In order to thank me my apprentice you can do two things. First, protect this town and never let any harm come to it.”

“I will Master.”

“Second, you can help me by creating more of those healing potions for me. That potion stopped my heart from feeling the pain of the poison in my heart. I think the effects will only be temporary but it will give me a chance to use my power and train you properly.”

“Agreed!”

“Finally, come back to me when you have improved enough to not be intimidated by mi fighting spirit and I will teach you the true way of the sword.”

“Ummm… Master ... I don’t mean this to be rude but didn’t you say you can’t use your techniques anymore and how will I know when I am strong enough not to be intimidated by your fighting spirit?”

“Yes you are correct that I can't use my techniques at the moment. I am hoping that your potions will allow me to do them just long enough that you can see them. I won’t be using the techniques though you will. I will teach you to become a better swordsman and learn some powerful skills. Second each time you feel like you have grown in strength come back here and I will release my strength. When it is no longer suffocating then you will be able to stand without conceding. Be sure that you have that healing potions when you are ready.”

“Thank you Master. I will do my best and I am so honored that you will teach me.”

“Of course. I believe this town needs someone to keep it safe from the evils of the world. I wasn’t able to save them.” The old man said as tears fell from his eyes.

“Save who Master?”

“My wife and only son were killed in the invasion. He was not yet old enough for me to teach. So he could not protect himself or his mother.”

“If you don’t mind me asking where were you during the invasion. With your power you could have easily defeated those orcs and goblins.”

“I was out of town on a trip trading goods when the invasion occurred. When I got back, the town was trashed and my family was dead.”

“I’m so sorry Master.” Hiro said bowing his head.”

“It is not your fault. I am just proud that someone was able to protect my home in my stead.”

“Thank you. Master, what is your real name so that I may show the proper respect.”

“You may call me Matsuro, The Lightning Blade.”

“Thank master Matsuro. I will return when I have gained more strength.”

As Hiro walked out of the store one of the young army recruits came to tell Hiro Foria needed him. He went to Foria and she told him she was leading people to the place where the plains cows were so that they could begin to domesticate them as a food source. Hiro went back to the outskirts of town a called Leo. He jumped onto his back and used his detect presence ability to find Foria. He was instantly able to find her but there was a powerful presence near her that made Hiro uneasy. Hiro told Leo the direction to run and they were off in a flash.

Hiro and Leo arrived to see a large plains cow with 3 sharp horns on his head. “This must be the leader of the cows. He must be a bull”, thought Hiro. He was about 1.75 meters tall and his skin was a light brown color. It lowered its head and began to charge at the villagers. Foria backed away and told the villagers to scatter as she began to shoot arrows at the bull. His hide was so thick that the arrows would not penetrate.

Hiro called out to her, “Stop firing we will take care of this.” Foria looked up and saw that it was Hiro. She had known that he had tamed a liger but this was the first time she saw him. She was completely amazed at the beast. Hiro told Leo to use his roar and Leo let out a roar that froze almost all of the plains cows and most of the villagers. However it did not paralyze the bull. “You must be a little tougher. Well in that case I guess we will have to beat you into submission.” Hiro dismounted. He and Leo began to walk towards the bull. Hiro began to let his ki flow around his body. He was shrouded in a soft red glow. The aura of the two together was so powerful that even the bull began to settle down and back up in fear. “watch him!” Hiro said to Leo. He immediately ran down to the where the bull had been rampaging. As Leo’s aura continued to restrain the movements of the bull Hiro found the lead farmer and grabbed his hand. “I need to try to tame the bull and make the farmer his master. If the bull was tamed by the farmer, he could have the bull lead all of the cows to the town without killing them.”

He led the farmer down to the bull. “Stand here.” He walked away from the farmer and went towards Leo and the bull. “Wrestle” instinctively Leo knew what Hiro meant. He knew it meant that he was to wrestle the bull down to the ground. With one quick movement Leo had used his paw to strike the bull but it jumped back. However, the attack caused a shockwave on the ground causing the bull to lose its balance. Hiro knew this attack well as he had experienced it with his own body. While the bull was off balance Leo charged in and tackled the bull to the ground.

“Stop” Hiro yelled as Leo was about to bite the bull. Leo roared loudly and place his paw on the bull behind its head. Leo kept his paw on the bull’s head and it squirmed trying to get free but due to Leo’s strength it was unable to move.

“Come here.” Hiro said to the farmer. Once he came Hiro placed the farmer’s hand on the bull and activated his tame beast ability. Instantly the bull stopped moving.

Beast tamed by farmer.

Hiro instructed, “Release” to Leo so that he would let the bull go. The bull got back to its feet and walked slowly to the farmer. By this time Leo’s roar skill had worn off and the cows were able to move. The farmer directed the bull to lead the cows to the pen that they had built on the edge of town. All of the cows followed behind the bull. The people cheered and everyone went up to show their thanks to Hiro and Leo. They all began to pet Leo and Leo licked each of them as the embraced him or stroked his fur. Leo now had become more accepted into the hearts of the townspeople.

Quest completed: Gain food source for the townspeople.

You gain 50 points of fame and 10 points towards your vitality.

Foria came up and hugged Hiro. “Our town is now able to have a sustainable source of meat. Once the cropps begin to grow back our people will always have food. How can I ever repay you my hero.”

Hiro grabbed her around the waist and kissed her on the lips. “That is payment enough for me to do this 100 times over.”

“My kiss is really worth that much.”

“To me, its worth more than gold!”

Foria blushed. “Will I see you later for dinner?”

“Why wait come ride with me and let’s go do some hunting like we used to do.”

“Sure why not. I’ve been itching to do some battling. All of this diplomatic stuff has left me a bit bored.”

Hiro jumped onto Leo’s back and reached his hand down. Foria grabbed his hand and he pulled her up onto the Leo’s back. They waved goodbye to the farmer and the group that were returning to the town and headed east. Hiro, Leo and Foria went off to do some hunting on the nearby plains.

While they were traveling, Hiro asked, “Have you ever heard of one of these?” while showing her the weapon skill book.

“Where did you get that?”

“So you have heard of it. Can you tell me about?”

“Yes, it’s a book that allows the person who holds it to gain skill by killing. The more things you kill the greater the amount of points the book records. Once you gain a certain amount of points then you will be granted with various increases in stats based on the weapon you are using.

“So the old man was right.”

“What old man.”

“Matsuro”

“You mean the Matsuro, the lighting blade?”

“You know of him?”

“Yes he is one of the most famous swordsmen in the world.”

“Wow! He said he would teach me to use a sword once I gained more power.”

“Listen to him carefully if he is willing to teach you. They said he moved like lightning and when his blade struck it was like the rumble of thunder.”

"Wow. He must have been very powerful. It will be good to learn from a master like that."

They felt Leo stop as he had found a group of what looked like hyenas fighting with some bloody vultures. The hyenas were all black with yellow spots and their rear legs were slightly shorter than the front legs letting you know that they could not run very fast. What was scary was the size of their head. It was massive. Their head was nearly the size of Leo’s but their body was about 25% smaller. The bite from these things had to be very dangerous. “No need to inspect them as the will not last long.”

“I’ll take the vulutres. You take the other ones” said Foria.

“Agreed. First one finished is the winner”, said Hiro.

“What will the prize be?”

“You decide”

“The loser has to cook dinner for the winner.”

“Oh you miss my cooking?”

“A little” , she said with a smile. Hiro nodded and the battle began.

Hiro intentionally took some from the hyenas’ claws so that he could improve his toughness skill. Meanwhile Leo did not waste anytime. Once he entered into the fray the hyenas turned their back on Hiro directed all of their attention on him. “That makes sense he would be there natural enemy.” This made it very easy for Hiro to slay them. He activated dashing slash ability and cut through the hyenas like they were nothing. Once he had cut down 5 of the hyenas he gained their attention again.

You gained 5 weapon skill points.

“It worked”

On the other side Foria had already shot down 6 vultures with her deadly bow.

“Can’t you keep up?”

“Don’t worry you won’t win this.”

Hiro looked up and Leo had killed 3 of the hyenas that were in front of him but he had taken some damage. He was not bitten but he had been scratched several times. Hiro ran up and thrust his blade straight through the stomach of 1 of the remaining 3 hyenas. While it let out a wail the other 2 hyenas turned and that was all of the distraction that Leo needed. He quickly pounced on one of the hyenas crushing it with his massive paws. The other jumped to attack Leo but Hiro activated his dashing slash ability and chopped off its head in mid air killing it instantly.

“I’m getting bored over here!” Foria said while leaning on her bow. She had already killed her 10 vultures and was waiting on Hiro.

You gained 6 weapon skill points

“So I even get points when Leo kills things. That’s good to know”

“You’ve still got your skilI with that bow.” He said to Foria

“Well when you’ve got it you’ve got it.”

“I guess it is your win.”

“Yes but I want a special dinner. I will wait until we get the ingredients for what I want.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. I will wait and let you know.

Hiro sat down and skinned the vultures and hyenas.

You gained 20 pieces of light leather.

Skinning skills has improved to novice level 3.

Once he finished skinning the carcasses Hiro went in and collected any parts that might be valuable. He took the jawbones and paws of the hyenas as well as some of the wings and talons of the vultures. Hiro noticed Leo was waiting patiently. He had finished with getting the valuables and said, “Eat!” Leo jumped up and began to devour the carcasses of the hyenas.

Leo learned the passive skill strong jaws. With this skill he can now crush the bones of an opponent creating impairment wherever he attacks.

You learned the skill scavenging.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:ScavengingBeginner0100%With this skill you are able to determine if materials may be useful from the remains of foes you have killed. The useful pieces will have a light glow to them to help you recognize them. The higher you level the stronger the glow helping find more important materials.

“That is great! Now I can be better at finding materials that I can sell for more money.” Hiro again tried to make some more armor from pieces of leather. He decided to make something different. He attempted to make a cloak to cover his head and back. He combined 5 pieces of leather with some of the coarse thread but he completely failed at his first attempt. His second attempt was another failure and so was his third. Finally, on his fourth attempt he found success.

You created a hand stitched cloak.

Hand stiched cloakType:LeatherDurability:40/ 40Quality:MediumDefense +8 Agility +1

Armor Making now at novice level 1.

Hiro was happy with his skill progression.

“Not bad, Hiro. Your getting pretty good at that.”

“Yeah. Seems so.”

“Well try it on.” Hiro placed the cloak over his shoulders. Foria attached it to his chainmail shirt by using some of his thread and weaving the thread in between the leather and the links in the chainmail.

“It fits me pretty well”

“Sure does. The sun is starting to go down. We should head back to town.” Hiro nodded and he whistled for Leo and they jumped up on his back. They left and soon they had returned to the town.

That night the people slaughtered three cows and made more stew. Everyone ate well including Hiro. While he ate several people came up to him greeting him and thanking him for saving the town. Hiro continued to say that he was only one of the people that saved the town. People loved his humility. They loved how their hero was just one of the common people.

Once he ate his fill he looked for Foria but she was nowhere to be found neither was Korin. Snow was relaxing in the company of some ladies so Hiro decided not to bother him. Hiro spotted one of the house staff and asked where Foria and Korin were. She told him that there was a meeting in the house tonight with them and the counsel. She told Hiro that he should leave them alone until tomorrow. He listened to her advice and went outside of the town to keep Leo company.

Once he sat down he took out the skill book that Matsuro had given him. As soon as he opened it, the book disappeared. “What just happened?” Suddenly, a sword icon began blinking in the bottom right hand corner of his HUD. Hiro clicked it and he saw a screen come up.

Martial Arts Skill Points: 0

Weapon Skill Points: 11

“Since I don’t have any martial arts points yet, I guess I’ll look at weapon skill points. He touched the weapon skill points and another screen came up. There were several bubbles each with the name of a weapon. Since he was using a sword he clicked the sword.

Do you wish to level up sword skills? It will cost 10 weapon skill points.

Hiro clicked yes.

You now have 1 weapon skill point remaining.

Sword mastery level up to novice level 4.

“Seriously, now I can increase my weapon mastery even faster! YES!” As soon as he clicked the sword mastery bubble two others appeared along a spiral that went out from the sword mastery bubble. One said, “Sword Wave” the other said, “Agility +15”. Hiro tried to click them but nothing happened. “Judging from the fact that they are grey, I would assume I can’t click them because I don’t have enough points. Well tomorrow I need to learn some more skill points.”

“Today was a day full of surprises and learning new things”, he thought to himself. “I would really like to know what happened during that counsel meeting. I guess I will ask them about it tomorrow. Hiro lay down on Leo’s soft fur and began to slowly drift off. Moments later he fell fast asleep outside the town under the warmth of Leo’s fur.