1 The Light's Dawn (1)

A/N: Brackets are thoughts.

[If hell was a real place, I'm living in it right now.]

Those were the thoughts of Ryan Akhtar, a typical teenager who lived an ordinary life in a remote village. 

Standing face to face with a demon holding the corpse of his father, Ryan could only feel regret for not being able to help him.

And now he will be meeting his end soon.

The demon tossed his father's corpse away, slowly approaching. The stench of hellfire and death filled his senses.

Ryan wanted to escape, but his body wouldn't let him. He had become paralyzed with fear. 

[Dammit, move already!] He thought as the demon approached closer.

The demon swung its tail, slamming Ryan's body through the wall. A low, sinister laugh could be heard. Looks like the demon has decided to play with its prey.

"*Cough* What am I even doing," Ryan said while looking through the hole in the wall.

The demon hopped through the wall before Ryan could stand back up. The two stare at each other for a second before the demon lunges at him.

Ryan barely rolls out of the way from the attack and glares at the demon, putting his hands up in a fighting stance. 

"If I'm going to die, I'm not going down without a fight!" Ryan announced to the demon, getting another sinister laugh from the demon.

Ryan sticks his right arm out, with his fingers spread, and takes a deep breath before starting his incantation. The demon just stands there amused at the attempt.

"By the brilliance of the sun and the purity of Light, I call forth the Luminous Bolt to banish the night. Illuminate the shadows, reveal the path so clear, With radiant power, let darkness disappear!" 

At the end of his chant, he thrusts his palm forward releasing a blinding bolt of light towards the demon, hitting the demon directly in the face and causing an explosion.

As smoke formed around the impact, the only thought going through Ryan's mind was whether or not his attack did anything. Luminous Bolt was the most powerful spell that he knew so he was sure it would do some damage.

Oh how wrong he was.

Before he could even react, a spear stuck him straight through his stomach. Clearing away the smoke, the demon appears unharmed from the attack.

All Ryan could hear was that same sinister laugh ring in his ears as the demon approached closer.

"Hah, why did I even think that I stood a chance," Ryan mumbled, and the laughter grew louder. The demon leans in, opening its mouth wide.

[Sorry Pop's, guess I'll end up as a snack for this demon as well.]

Suddenly, a large gust of wind shoots towards the two, blasting them apart. A green-haired man in green armor could be seen clapping his hands.

"I gotta say, you put up quite the fight against that demon young man," the mysterious man said before patting Ryan's back.

"What fight did I even put up," Ryan replied in a sorrowful tone. "It didn't even feel my attack."

"It's not that you're weak, this demon is just stronger," the man said blatantly. 

Before the demon could get back up on his feet, the demon was lifted into the air and crushed easily.

Ryan could only stare at the sight in shock.

"How did you do that?!"

"I just used magic," the man said nonchalantly as he walked towards the remains of the demon, picking up a glowy purple shard. "Hmm, this is a high-quality one too, sure got lucky today."

The man joyfully looked at the shard for a few seconds before pocketing the item. Humming a joyful tune before taking out a crystal orb, seemingly reporting his finding.

A few minutes later, the man turned back to the boy who had decided to sit by a rock as he was bleeding out.

"That magic spell you used, how did you learn it?" The man asked.

Ryan looked at the man in confusion, [If he was able to see me charge up my magic spell, why didn't he help me sooner?]

"My father taught me."

The man thinks for a moment before saying, "He must've taught you well. Luminous Bolt isn't the easiest spell to learn, especially for a commoner."

"Why is that?" The teen asked.

"Well, you need a good amount of wealth to learn even the most basic of spells, and even more if you want to become a fully-fledged Essence Mage," the man answered, approaching the young man.

Looking at the boy's injury, the man smiled a little.

"That demon did a number on you huh."

Stretching out his hand and mumbling a few phrases, his palm began emitting a green glow which slowly closed the hole in Ryan's stomach.

"Hey mister, what's your name?" Ryan asked as the man was healing his stomach.

"Hmm, should I tell you or should I not," the man contemplated.

Ryan just stared at the man unamused. "Just tell me."

"Alright. My full title is Edward the Emerald Knight, I'm an A-rank Essence Mage," Edward announced with pride.

"Cool," Ryan said uninterested in his boasts. 

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A minute later, Edward had finished healing the hole in Ryan's stomach.

"There, now you won't die," Edward reassured as he sat down in front of Ryan.

"Thanks," Ryan said as felt his stomach.

Edward took out the crystal orb and made a few more calls, while he did that Ryan was just lost on his own though.

How could he get stronger, he hated the feeling of being weak. The helplessness he felt when his father sacrificed himself for him was an unbearable feeling. 

He also thought about Mr. Edward. As an A-rank Essence Mage, he was able to take down the same demon that wiped out his village like it was nothing. 

He wanted that strength, so he'd never have to experience what he just went through again.

"Hey Mr. Edward, how can I get stronger?" 

Edward didn't answer at first, instead, he continued talking on the orb for a couple more minutes before finally ending the call.

"Ryan, if you want to become stronger there is only one way. You need to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit." 

Edward thought for a moment before also adding, "If you want, I could help you enroll at Arcane Academy."

Ryan's eyes widened. Arcane Academy was the most prestigious academy in the whole continent located in the imperial capital, Empara City. Only nobles would get the opportunity to join the academy.

"Could you really get me into that academy?" Ryan asked with sparkly eyes.

"No promises, you're pretty weak right now," Edward blatantly answered, causing Ryan to frown a bit. 

"But a few minutes ago you were talking about how impressive it was for me to use Luminous Bolt."

"For a commoner, definitely. But the students at the academy are much more impressive," Edward replied nonchalantly.

Hearing that, Ryan began to sulk. Muttering many insulting phrases which caused Edward to sigh.

"More importantly, are you sure you're okay? Like mentally?" Edward asked worriedly. "Your whole village was wiped out by that demon."

"I'm fine" was all Ryan would say, even when Edward kept pestering him about his mental health.

After a while, Ryan decided to change the topic.

"Hey Mr. Edward, could you possibly, if you have time, trai-"

"Sure."

"I didn't even finish what I was going to say."

"And my answer is yes, now come along, we don't have long before the next semester," Edward just brushed it off before walking away.

Ryan just watched him walk away into the distance before realizing,

[Wait, he's going to leave me behind!]

Panicking, the blonde-haired boy ran after him,

Marking the beginning of Ryan's magical journey.

A/N: This is my very first novel, so I'd appreciate if you left me reviews or comments to help with the process of making this.