Chapter 1 - A for awakening!
In the city Unbreon a young man and an old man engaged in a spar in their backyard.
Their swords crossed at high speeds and their movements showed little to no hesitation.
Arbo, the old man, would be lying if he said he wasn't proud of this 'grandkid' of his.
Was he powerful? Not even close.
Was he good with a sword? Sure, a little.
And yes, it took very little effort to spar with the young man again and again, a task normally so boring that when he started teaching the boy on a whim he was sure he'd stop coming personally in a matter of months.
Not the fault of his disciple mind you, Arbo had simply way too many levels and experience for these little clashes of them to give him any sort of improvement in either his class level or his skills level.
And yet years have passed and here he was, still watching little Zatu sweat a river on his shirt.
Straining to keep his breathing under control.
Swinging, parrying and stabbing again and again with everything he got.
His strength, speed and skill, though still at a mortal level, were like day and night compared to his child self... in many ways Zatu's skills far surpassed Arbo himself when he was at his age.
And of course Arbo would never admit that outloud.
'Kids grow so fast.' He thought to himself, the memory of their meeting surfacing in his mind as his body sparred with his 'grandkid' on autopilot.
It was the funeral of a young prospect, well... young in Arbo's old eyes, since the man did have almost 50 years at the time of his passing.
A golden haired man that had personally helped Unbreon weather out multiple beast waves. A hero he personally saw climbing the ranks and that he might as well watch be buried.
At first it looked like it would be just another funeral, like the other hundreds Arbo had participated throughout his years in Umbreon.
But who could have guessed that as he walked inside the funeral home and the adults bowed to him in greeting, a little kid barely holding a bloodied bastard sword would walk fearlessly to his front.
"I've decided on my wish. I want to be strong, very strong, so strong that beasts fear the colors of the city walls." The kid started with no room for argument, his determined little eyes locking onto Arbo's.
That pulled a laugh out of Arbo's throat, the kid had no doubt confused him for the one responsible for giving reparations to the families of the deceased.
How long had it been since someone spoke to him in such a tone at that point? decades? Maybe a century? Arbo couldn't even remember it.
Lowering himself to the kid's height, he gave the best advice he could think for such a young boy.
"That isn't something I can give you kid, the path to strength is a path that must be walked on your own legs. I could point you on the way forward, but I warn you, the corpses of many men stronger, older and wiser than you, lie beneath the earth you're asking to walk on."
"Did someone ever get to the end of this path?" The kid's hands squeezed on the sword's handle, as a small trace of doubt escaping his little voice.
"Hahahaha, the path is never ending kid, but I can tell you at least a handful of people have reached the level of strength where beasts run from them on sight... but again, they aren't the rule, they are the exceptions."
That gave pause to the boy, his little eye sliding down to the bloodied sword that his little hands struggled to keep up.
All the while silence echoed loud in the funeral home, not a single other person being bold enough to interrupt Arbo's talk.
In those moments, Arbo saw a lot flash behind those little blue eyes, fear, worry, desire, hope, despair, till finally a cold and solid determination took over.
"If someone has done it, I can do it too." He said looking at the sword, before his eyes raised and locked into Arbo's. "Please show me the way, grandpa."
"Grandpa huh?" Arbo murmured with a smile, the kid growing a bit more endearing in his eyes. "Follow me kid, my name is Arbo, you can call me Grandpa Arbo. What's your name, little one?"
"I am Zatu." the kid announced as he followed Arbo out the funeral home before the coffin was even buried, not like they had recovered much of his body anyway.
Just as the memory ends a half baked slash gets Arbo's attention.
In response he hits the tip of Zatu's sword with the middle of his, moving it out of the way so he can end the spar with his sword at Zatu neck.
However, the sword doesn't just move out, but instead flies away spinning, which brings a frown to Arbo's brows and a stop to his movements.
'What happened? He shouldn't be tired enough to drop his sword.'
"You good kid?" Arbo asked worriedly, while casting a careful look at Zatu only to see a dumb smile on his face.
'What the? wait... what was his age again?'
Sheathing back his sword Arbo walks behind Zatu and slaps him behind the head.
"Stop zoning away boy, If I was a beast you'd be dead by now! What happened?"
Arbo asked though he already had a guess and that brought Zatu back to reality, as he apologized with a red tint on his cheeks.
***
"Sorry, the system light appeared in front of me mid swing." I chuckled embarrassed. "I'm finally an awakened Old man!" I added as a series of messages flooded my vision.
[3 Awakened classes unlocked]
[Unbreon City Guard]
[Swordsman]
[Magic swordsman]
[Choose 1]
'Finally!' I celebrated in my mind, my body shaking in excitement as I already imagined me and my sword hunting beasts outside the walls.
In the lost in that dream I almost picked the magic swordsman before hesitating.
Looking at names only, the third option looked the most charming in my eyes and yet I remembered Grandpa Arbo had warned me about this.
"When picking your first class, remember to think carefully, since though their names and skills might sound similar, the classes in themselves actually change according to the individual, for example..."
'for example...'
I frown a bit trying to remember the rest.
'for example...'
'for example...'
'Shit! I don't remember the rest. I should have paid more attention to his theoretical classes.'
I sighed, wondering if there was a way to look further into what each class offered, before suddenly three new light messages popped up in front of my eyes.
In them their descriptions, unlock requirements and main characteristics were clearly written.
And after reading them, one clearly caught my eye.
=============
[Magic swordsman]
(Requirements)
[Swordsman] class unlocked;
At Least 100 hours of meditation.
(Main characteristics)
1 - Unlocks both Sword Intent and Elemental mana control skills.
2 - Absurd dueling strength.
3 - Absurd Battle impact.
4 - Takes double the effort to raise main levels.
(Description)
A variation of the [Swordsman] Class with improved strength and higher versatility in fights, especially in larger battles, due to having access to both elemental mana and sword intent.
This class had one of the highest ceilings of powers when compared at the same level, however it also takes more effort to to level up since you will have to master both of those resources to extract its full potential.
On addendum, it also starts with weaker combat power, then most other combat classes, seeing as from the first 3 skills gained on Tier 1 awakening, 2 of them will be control type skills for both mana and intent.
Leaving you with either half or a third of the normal amount of skills when compared with most combat classes.
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If I feared putting in the work I wouldn't have gotten it as a first awakening option in the first place, so without hesitation I selected the magic swordsman class.
In moments I feel a strange form of energy fill the world around me, though I knew that was just my impression since mana was a thing that filled the world since before I was born and that I just like most couldn't sense before awakening.
Then I feel this energy enter my body, flooding my veins with a slight heat while my muscles start to spasm, suddenly I hear a crackling sound and looking at my hands I see faint purple arcs jumping over my skin.
In that instant a few understandings dawn on my mind, this is my mana and my mana is attuned to the lightning element.
And as I feel that new energy around me be absorbed into my body and transformed continuously into little purple sparks, other changes start to appear.
Second by second those sparks travel my body, weakening and dispersing as they spread through my veins, bones and muscle and at the same time taking with it all the tiredness from my earlier sparring session with grandpa and granting a strength to them that makes me feel as if right now I could wrestle a blood wolf with my bare hands.
All these changes happen one after another in a matter of seconds, overwhelming my mind and senses with both external changes and a multitude of dreams about what I could do now, how great I would become, how good it would feel to show off to Schalt later at his Inn.
Lost in thoughts I don't know how much time passed till my awakening came to an end, but when it did I felt fantastic, my body strong and full of energy.
Now calmer and out of the process I find another feeling has been awakened besides the mana sense, a feeling that tethers me to something outside my body.
Casting a glance in the direction of the tether I see my bastard sword lying down on the ground.
'So this is how sword intent feels huh?' I smile.
Having paid much more attention to this topic during Arbo's lessons I extend my hand and call my sword back to me in my mind.
The sword in response trembles and slowly lifts itself off the ground, only to fall back down while barely moving.
A small sigh left my lips, seeing the little power the sword intent I had cultivated throughout my years of training being unable to call back my sword.
'I guessed it wouldn't come all the way back, but damn, not even moving halfway?'
"Don't be in a hurry Zatu, accumulating sword intent before awakening is hundreds of times harder than after." Grandpa consoles me while patting my back.
"The fact it even got off the ground shows already that not only you already had accumulated some but also that your sword has already started to adapt to your intent."
"I know, it's just... when I felt the mana it was so powerful, in a matter of minutes, it revitalized my whole body."
"I thought surely my sword's intent would be even stronger! But then..." I sigh looking at the sword sprawled on the ground.
Then I feel his old hand hit the back of my head.
"That wasn't your mana boy, the first awakening is a present to us humans from the world itself and that starting mana comes from it, your own mana wouldn't be able to change your body like during this stage."
"Kid, the power of the world is a thing out of your or my control Zatu, while the sword intent that raised your sword is a power you raised, that is not only in your control, but truly yours."
"So stop turning your wins into losses alright?"
"Okay, I understand."
I nod and go grab my sword.
In the end Grandpa was right, though it is little, this small sword intent is mine. And just like my sword, I will cherish it.
"Good! Now how about we go celebrate your awakening? Think your friend's Inn is already open? I have a few old friends with grandkids around your age, how about I give them a call?"
"Please don't old man, me, you and Schalt... and maybe whatever girl he is seeing right now is plenty for this moment okay?"
"Fine! But you could learn a thing or two with your friend, the sword is a companion for life, but that doesn't mean it has to be your only companion." Grandpa grumbled at the side.
"Schalt is my friend too, with him, you and the sword. What more do I need in this life? "
"What more do you need? What if you want to have a child one day? What then?!"
I side eye Grandpa.
"Why bring a child to this world before being able to protect the ones that are already here?"
I hear grandpa sigh at that and stop his nagging.
Then I look to the sky and see the sun is not much lower than high noon.
"At this time of day Schalt must be asleep, let's just train through the afternoon and I'll call him later."
After saying so I hear another sigh as grandpa mumbles something about not having a life, but I don't pay much attention to it, my focus already shifting to giving a look to my class panel.