Start of a journey

Spring, Year 820 of the Ogonata calendar.

-Felton towns noble manor-

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

"Old man, at least let me get a hit in!" Arthur, a young man around 16 years old, said as he was standing across a middle-aged man.

"Hahahaha, and why exactly would I do that?" Brian, a middle-aged man, answered back with a big grin.

These two people looked exactly like each other, except that Brian had signs of being older. They both looked handsome, with long dark hair, sharp eyebrows, and eyes that could pierce even the heavens.

Arthur was quite tall, around 185 cm, with a lean stature, as he had muscles, but they were not completely developed yet. Brian was around 190 cm, with quite a muscular build, as he had been through many battles and had developed his muscles to the peak.

These two were father and son, and they were in the middle of sword practice at this moment. The young man was drenched in sweat at this moment, but the middle-aged man barely had any sweat on his forehead at all.

They were practicing in the back of a small mansion, in something that was made for training. All it was, was a grassless spot of land with a training dummy and two people slashing at each other with swords. This was enough to call it their training field, though.

These two father and son were part of a small noble family who had gotten their noble title as a baron. It was the absolute lowest rank of noble, but it was still a noble title that gave them a plot of land with a small mansion.

This title had been given to this family through the father's father. He had gotten the title through fighting on the battlefield with great bravery and earning enough merits for him to get his family a noble title

Above the tile baron, there were Viscount, Earl, Marquise, Duke, and Royal from lowest to highest. The first four were titles that were given by the Royal family, while the only way to become royal was to marry into the family. There were also what they called titles of honor under the noble titles; these were Baronet, knight, and squire. This was how it worked in the kingdom of Witford, where Arthur's family lived.

"Okay, you too, that is enough for now. Dinner is ready!" A woman's sweet voice came from the door by the training field.

"Yes, mother!" Arthur said as he rushed inside.

This woman was the mother of Arthur and the wife of Brian. She was a commoner before she met Brian, and she was the daughter of the local town miller. When she was young, she was definitely the most beautiful woman in town, and many of the noblemen coveted her. Even one of the duke's sons had tried getting with her.

In the end, Brian was one of the many that were pursuing her love. He did not have any of the resources the other noblemen had. All he could do was visit her with flowers he had gone out to pluck himself. He could visit her with small baskets of food, and blankets, so they could go on small picnics. He never had the opportunity to do anything fancy for her.

What had surprised Brian was that all she actually wanted was pure love. All the other noblemen had lusted for her beauty, and she could see that in the eyes of all of them. All she could see in the eyes of Brina every time they met, though, was pure, tender love.

This had made her fall in love with Brian over time as well, and her smile had grown more and more brilliant every time they met. In the end, Brian took up the courage to ask for her hand in marriage, which made her so happy that she shed tears.

To this day, 20 years after their marriage, their fire of love had never died down, and this was something Arthur could clearly feel. He had really hoped he could get the same happiness his parents had gotten through each other.

"Marie, our son seems to be hungry!" Brian said while he went over and hugged his wife. "I am too!" He said with a dirty look as he looked down.

"Take a bath. You stink!" Marie said nothing more as she left his embrace and went inside. She was quite used to his behavior after being married for 20 years.

They were all now sitting at the dinner table. The room was not the biggest, but it was not small either. The walls and floors were all made of stone, and the sealing was made of wooden planks. It was quite a simple look.

"So, Arthur … Are you ready for tomorrow?" Brian asked Arthur, looking at him with a proud look.

Tomorrow was the day that Arthur was old enough to join the military. Many young men wanted to join the military, but it was not always so easy. Arthur was lucky to be born into a small noble family, as this meant he was better off than a commoner.

"Mhm, I won't let father down!" Arthur said with a big smile. He did not only join the military for his father, though. He joined it in hope of getting stronger and improving the lives of his family.

Even though they were nobles, they were of the lowest rank. This meant that every time they joined banquets and so on, they would be ridiculed by those of higher rank. This made Arthur hold many grudges, and he hated most of the noble people in this land.

"HAHAHA, I know! You are my son, after all!" Brian did not have any hopes for Arthur, really. All he wanted for Arthur was a happy life where he could do what he wanted to do. He had to encourage him on the path he had chosen, though.

"Mother is proud of you too, son. I just hope nothing will happen to you!" Marie said. Her face showed she was both proud and worried.

"Don't worry, mother, I am not that weak!" Arthur reassured his mother. He hated the sad look of his mother.

"Yeah, he is much better off than I was back then!" Brian tried to reassure Marie too. Brian was not lying either. For a 16-year-old, Arthur was definitely strong, but he did need life and death situations before he could gain true strength.

After a while of eating, with a harmonious atmosphere and lots of happy conversation, Marie suddenly gave Brian a look. A look told Brina to tell Arthur something he needed to know.

"Arthur, there is actually something we need to tell you!" Brian suddenly gave Arthur a serious look. "Do you know why you are not really an adult before you are 16 years old?"

"Hmm, not really?" Arthur could only look at Brina with a confused look.

"It is because, at this time, you will be able to train in something we humans call 'Aura.' This force is something we use to strengthen the body to a degree you would not be able to without it!" Brian said. This made Arthur listen very intensely.

"It is a mystical force, which can only be trained through special techniques or battle! Unfortunately, we do not hold one of those techniques in this household, which is why war is the best way for people like us!" Brian paused.

"You have never really left this home, so you don't know much about this world … In fact, I don't either! All I can tell you is that you can never be too careful out there!" Brian said as he stopped. He had not experienced much either since he had only been in his hometown, here, or out on the battlefield.

"Honestly, I don't really understand, but I promise I will be careful!" Arthur said with an earnest look. He did not really fear the unknown.

"Good, then I don't have much more to say, go get some rest, and then we will see you off to the capital in the morning!" Brian said before he left with a serious look on his face.

"I will go with your father. See you in the morning!" His mother gave him a tender glance before she followed Brian.

The next day quickly came. The atmosphere in the house was a little tense, as the kid of the household was leaving for the military. A father and a mother will always have difficulty letting their kids go the first time, especially when their kid has never been out before.

Outside the house, the father, mother, and son pair were standing in front of a small carriage. It was time for them to say their goodbyes.

"Son, this will be a hard journey for you, so I have a little gift for you here!" Brian said as he pulled something out from behind his back. "Take it, and use it well!"

It was a knight's sword. The blade was around 75 cm long, with a beautiful leather handle, a curved silver guard, a silver pommel, and lastly, the name of the family had been written on the blade itself, Maquire. It was something Arthur had seen in the house before. It was the sword that his grandfather had used to gain the title of baron; Brian had had it remade for Arthur to use.

"T-Thank you, father!" Arthur had a serious look as he grabbed it with both hands.

"Mother has nothing more to say than, please come home save!" Marie went over and hugged Arthur with a small tear in her eye. She was having a hard time saying goodbye to her son.

""Have a safe journey!"" She pulled away, still with a tear in her eye, and said these words at the same time as Brian. Both of them gave him a warm smile at the same time.

"Thank you, mother, father! I will see you soon!" Arthur said with a small smile. He almost teared up like his mother after seeing her like this.

After saying that, he went into the carriage, ready for the journey ahead. He was ready to make many new friends, fight dangerous battles, learn about the different places he could visit, and so on. All in all, he was very excited about this journey he would be taking on.

The carriage started driving, and it did not take long for it to get out of sight for the father and mother pair still standing at their small mansion.

"I am going to miss him!" Marie suddenly said with a sad look.

"Me too, Marie, me too!" Brian said before he turned around and walked inside.