Badurad

I woke up, alone.

All I could see was white.

I stared at the ceiling.

I can't move.

I can hardly see.

I can hardly breathe.

What's happening? Did I die? The last thing I remember was going through the gates of Lignostad, so what happened?

I sat up. My back reeling from the shock. I looked down at my body, I was covered in scars and stitches, I looked frail and weak, all my strength was gone and I was hardly alive, as I breathed my chest rose and fell. Was that proof that I'm alive? As I woke up a man appeared in front of me.

"Badurad? You're awake? That's great news. My name is Arctivus but we can save that for later. "

"I'm alive?"

"Yes you gave us quite the scare, your friends took you here to lignostad the capital of magic. But I have a few things to tell you before you use that um I won't call what you were doing magic more like a beast thrashing out. So I will teach you how to control your magic and how to prevent the plague from affecting you again."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"Because Badurad I am Arctivus the fourth archmage, and you sir saved my family from the Lord of the Lambs. So I am eternally indebted to you, I swore to myself that I would do anything possible to help you given the opportunity."

After a few weeks of eating right and exercising I was back to my usual self, my strength returned and as promised Arctivus taught me magic, the spells I'd learnt from Zel were usable, I could control the flames finally. It was a happy moment for me, I hoped it would put an end to the rampages and blood. As for my friends we all went our separate ways. For three years. Each of us hopes to get stronger, to exceed all limits and become the strongest. But I mastered magic in three months, it was easy since I had already learnt all the spells in Nakoro. There was one thing left to do.

I left the UMRS behind walking into the north to find a man, the strongest man in fact. The man named the solo annihilator, also known as hiro's and my master. I walked north. It took me a year to cross the country, I fought bandits and monsters, liberating villages from monster and man alike as I traveled. I passed through the green of Westeria, through the rolling hills and mountains, past the sparkelling lakes and flowing streams. I walked through the country seeing the beautiful country I was protecting. Until I reached the north, the blizzards crashed into me as I crossed the ravine, the gap below cased in darkness. I stepped onto the snow, my mind filled with memories of blood, the blood of friend and foe alike. As I looked on into the white air, the snow flying in front of me, I saw the vampire's hand stabbing into Hiro's chest, the horror and sadness replaying over and over in my head as I trudged through the blankets of snow.

I reached my destination after another six months of searching, I arrived at a mountain towering into the clouds. And heard the distant but all too familiar sound of swords clattering. The back and forth as they sliced through each other. I walked around the mountain to see the familiar face. It was my master panting as his breath made clouds in the air, he had long black hair that was tied back into a short ponytail. He had green eyes and a slightly wrinkled face. His eyes were a dark vibrant green and he always smiled when he fought, it was always fun for him. He loved to challenge himself by setting handicaps or fighting god class monsters. He always had fun fighting. I sat down in the snow staring at the battle going on.

My master was fighting a giant, one of the most powerful monsters in the world.

"Human it's been seven years just give up I will outlast you, either show me your true strength or give up."

"Ugh but then it's no fun, fine I haven't eaten in a while and I'm getting tired, he rock guy thanks for fighting me we should do it again when you reincarnate."

He clapped his hands together and a golden light rushed out of his body incinerating his eye patch. He opened his left eye which was glowing a brilliant light. The entire eye shone like a star.

"Very true human I hope we shall fight again."

" Our eternal light, our lord in eternal rest, please grant me your power to help me strike through your enemies to create an unblockable and holy sword that dispels all who dispute or threaten your absolute rule.

grant me your miracle!"

He picked up his broadsword, the blade shining with an intense light. My master jumped into the air and slashed, his blade cut through the giant cleanly and instantly his power cleaving through the giant's body. It was over.

"So Badurad my student what did you think?"

He stared at me slumping to the ground.

"It was powerful but I know that it's not what you would want out of a miracle,"

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Yeah, you'd want an endless battle where neither got tired or weaker, an endless fight against someone you could never defeat. Like my father maybe."

"I see, you know about him now? Well that's to be expected, who told you?"

"It's a long story."

"Well It's been a long time since I've seen you. I want to hear about what has happened with the blue eyed butcher."

So I told him, about how I'd graduated from the prodigy program, How I'd fought a hobgoblin, and how I'd met Zel, about my fights in the UMRS, about how I'd beaten John and how I'd traveled to the north, about my fights with demi-Giants and Hobgoblins, and about my fight with the vampire and also about my illness, about how I met god, about how I traveled over the continent to get to him and about why.

"Well now that sounds interesting, and you want me to teach you the sword? I'm sorry kiddo but I can't do that. There is only one way to learn how to fight monsters and unlike the 'Knights' at Dedenford would have you think it's not by fighting humans. Technique and style have very little to do with how you defeat a dragon it's all about instinct, that can be instinct you're born with or that you develop over months and years spent endlessly fighting different kinds of monster, But luckily over that ridge is the most northern point of this continent and on that point is a fort, that fort is filled with goblins and orcs, trolls and other such monsters. Now as your master I think you should walk into that fort and fight every single one of them, only through that danger will you develop the skill of a knight, the skill of a monster hunter, the skill that has made humans the dominant power of this continent not magic or intelligence, its potential. Humans are so dangerous because they can be so varied, unlike goblins that always attack in the same way and tumble over each other. We can adapt, develop skills and strategies so everytime we get knocked down, every time we lose we can get up and do better next time. And that skill to grow from everything is what is lacking from the knights of Dedenford. There is no proper way to fight, because the right way to fight is to grow from your experiences and become endlessly better. That's something your father taught me. And now I'm teaching it to you."

Begrudgingly I walked into the fort, flames towered above me as I walked in. I don't know how I want to fight. I don't know how I will survive but I know I have to.