(1 year and two months after Klada Disaster)
[Kyrielle's POV]
(Bristal City)
"Hmm...." A mage groaned out loudly as he inspected the greatsword that we put on his counter.
"...." (2x) Both mom and I waited for his response silently.
"Hmm...."
"So, what do you think?" Asked mom.
We took the greatsword of the headless and went back to the city. We splitted with the rest of the party and thus it was just me and mom who brought the sword to a magic item shop where we had the owner there inspects it.
"This is no doubt a magic sword but..."
"But?"
"...but I don't know what effect it has. Interesting...."
I studied a out this back in school, so I knew a little bit about magic items to know that there's a log that recorded all the magic effects that can be carved into an item.
"Why? Can't you determine the effect of it by just analyzing the magic crest carved into it?"
"Yes, but this crest on the sword is not one that is recorded in the archive.... This is likely an ancient magic item, a 'one-of-it's-kind item', so to speak."
"Then that means we can make a new spell!"
"Yes, we can copy out the crest ingrained in it and get a new spell's effect. You sure know a thing about magic huh, little girl?"
"Well I was a student of a magic school after all..."
"Hmm, as expected then. But the fundamental problem remains unchanhed, we don't know what it's effect is and it's too dangerous to just test it out here. Are there any other hints as to what the effect of this crest is?"
"Hmm... The undead that used it did said his name was Dredri-"
"Dredrick?!" The mage yelled out, making my ears hurt.
"Wh-why the big reaction?"
"Dredrick is one of the many heroes of Pretannia who fought during the Great War... a well renowned Sword Saint. He is one of the many heroes who fought on the front lines against the demons! He is an important figure who went missing in the middle of the war, where did you two find him?!"
"We found him in a cave with a decapitated head... he turned into a very powerful vengeful spirit called 'Headless', but we were able to exorcise him and grant him peace."
Mom said, without a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"...Then you two must be really strong right?"
"Not particularly."
"Hmm.... If it's Dredrick, then his sword's effect should be along the lines of Teleportation magic..."
"Teleportation?" (2x)
"Indeed. Dredrick wields a holy sword granted by the Space God to him, and he is able to teleport around through the use of the sword's power and jumps through space time itself, as if he is teleporting small dostances."
"I see.... What is the blade's name then?"
"Hmm... There is actually no recorded instance of this sword having a name. But since you are going to sell this to me, that means I can let you name the sword."
"Hmm.... Kyrie, how about you do it?"
"Me? Okay..."
But I can't come up with a good name all of a sudden...
Dredrick... Dred....
"...Dread. This sword's name will be Dread."
"Dread huh?... It sounds a bit lame, but I like it regardless. This sword will now be known as 'Dread' and we'll research it's magic crest before selling it off to a royalty."
"So what's the price you'll buy it from us?" Mom immediately went straight for the money.
"....5 gold."
"That's a very generous amount, we'll take it."
(AN : 5 gold is 500 silvers, which is 50000 coppers and 1 copper = 1 US Dollar, or the equivalent of a mid-class car.)
________________
We splitted the money afterwards, everyone got 1 gold except me...
"Mooommm! Why don't I get a gold as well?!"
"No! A kid your age shouldn't own so much money, let alone keep it in your pocket. Mom will keep it for you."
"Hah?! No fair!"
"This is the rule! Mom will give it back to you when we reach home, but for now I'll safe keep it incase you buy weird things with it."
"I won't, I'm not a kid!"
"You still are, you are 12."
"Wha- hmpt!"
Little did she know that I kept at least 3 gold coins in my coin pouch.... far more than any kids of my age even own, but she has a point.
Immediately after we killed that Headless monster, we set out of the city and headed towards the east.
Our route is rather simple, we follow the eastern highway until we crossed Pretannia entirely. Since Pretannia is Britain from Earth, we'll have to cross a canal once we are at the Eastern side of Pretannia.
After a long period of near non-stop travelling towards the East, we had finally reached the Ataraxia country once we crossed the canal.
But even if we are now in Ataraxia, we are still a long ways from home. Klada city is up at the northern part of this country.... but this country stretches almost across the entire Europe itself, which is extremely huge. We have a long journey ahead of us.....
Our next objective is to travel up north, all the way until home... But with so much travelling comes economic issues. Including the travel expenses and taxes for using the highway, we had spent almost 20 silvers each....
Not that it is a problem for me and mom, since we are both actually quite stacked in terms of money.
However, Gareth, Gazeth and Jenny doesn't have enough money. They needed some coins to not make this journey unrealistic and expensive.
Besides, it is early autumn now, we won't make it home before winter. Travelling in the winter especially in Europe will be disastrous at best, and suicide at worst. That's why we've decided to stop at one of the city in the middle of our route.
Our plan is to earn enough money to cover all three of their future expenses, and then stay comfy in the city until the winter passes away.
_______________
(4 months later....)
(1 year and 6 months after Klada Disaster)
[Kyrielle's POV]
"We are almost at the Cross Fang's Passing now." Jenny said to me, who is reading behind her on the same horse.
Cross Fang is the nickname of the upcoming city... It is a city where most wars took place in our country, I learned that in my history lessons. As an Ataraxian state, this place is often dubbed the 'Graveyard of Heroes' and that's is why the name 'Cross Fang' was given.
Cross Fang's Passing is a small road section that leads right between two mountains and towards the other side of the mountain where the city is.
"Mmm."
"Kyrie, you have always been living with your mother up north right? Have you ever seen the Central Plains then?"
"No, but I've heard of it."
"Heh, you'll be amazed by the sight when we climbed to the top of the mountain!"
"Is that so?"
The Central Plains is a massive circular grass field right in the middle of Centralia Continent, and Cross Fang city is built right in the middle of it.
The open field of between these mountains all contributed to the multiple histories of battles and heroic tales here, because of the tactical advantage in an entirely open field.
It is after all a massive are spanning almost 80 kilometers in length and surrounded by mountains. Although there are multiple rivers and hills, in the Central Plains there is no forest, mountains and no caves. Just a massive flat land, straight up.
Right now we are on one of the mountain surrounding the Central Plains, passing through a mountain highway in a large forest full of trees with decaying, yellow leaves. It is the start of the Autumn after all.
"...I've been meaning to ask but did you knew Gareth and Gazeth for long?"
"We have known these two since we were teenagers.... I guess you can say yes, we are long time friends."
"Mmm. And how about my mother?"
"Oh, it's an interesting story, you wanna hear it?"
"Of course."
"On one of our adventures, we escaped after we were attacked by group of Raptors, a type of bipedal reptiles that you've likely never seen before."
....Aren't those just dinosaurs?
"Raptors huh...."
"Well, even though those are dangerous they are still no match for you. But either way we hiked through a forest with injured bodies. Our healing potions ran out already, and we were in deep trouble because Gareth is severely injured by those Raptors. We met Katherine on our way to the city, and she healed us up."
"I see... And then?"
"And then we wanted to thank her. She didn't want any rewards, but we saw that she was traveling alone and so decided to travel with her hahaha!"
"Mhmm."
"Although she rejected at first, she soon complied.... That's when we started travelling together as a party. After a while, we learn about her depressing history... About your pop's death and your sister's disappearance... but it only motivated us more to help her out. I guess that's how it happened."
"...I thank you in behalf of her, for sticking to her even though you have nothing to gain for it."
"Dont worry about it, she's vital as a healer to our group and she's a damned good leader. We have something to gain by travelling with you two as well!"
"Then what did you gain?"
"I learned more about leading people when working with your mother.... And you've given me tons of inspiration about how to use magic! Afterall, you are one of the most odd mage I've ever seen in the world, and an exceptionally strong one at that."
"Ahaha...."
Most of our fights starts out with me and Jenny demolishing our opponents with our Fused Magic, usually a combination of my Incineration and her Wind Blades.
And when melee comes into play, Gareth, beats just about anyone with his greatsword before I even have a chance to shine. Gazeth provides backup to him by flanking and then stabbing the enemy in the back with a short sword.
Mom and Jenny covers the rear guard and provides backup magic to us. It just so happens that Jenny's good at wind magic, and this perfectly compliments my fire magic.
And when all fails... Forbidden Suns and Blaze Edges never fails, even against apparition-type enemies. We might be one of the strongest parties out in the field now, capable of taking on B ranked monsters without batting an eye just as Lynn was able to.
Though I suspect it may all be due to my extreme power.... Dragonic Burst, Blaze Edges and my Forbidden Suns are so brokenly lethal afterall.
"Everyone, we are at the summit now." Mom informed us all as we cross the horizon of road, onto the summit of the mountain.
I jumped down from the horse and walked forward, taking a look at the Central Plains that lies just below.
"Woah...."
On the plain I could see countless farming villages, rivers, windmills, grass hills, wild animals, and a gigantic city in the middle of the Plain, Cross Fang City....
Winds blew along the plain, making the grasses danced in its flow as if birds flying in the tide of the weather. This same winds blew up the mountain, and made my long hair flowed like the grasses below.
"This.... This is awesome." I blurted out subconsciously.
I know that the plain is massive, but to personally see it myself makes me feel astronomically small compared to it....
The plain is so massive that it is difficult to see the other side of the Plain even while standing on a mountain. They really aren't exaggerating when they say that you can't see the ends of thid plain when standing in the middle of it.
Mom walked up to me from the left. "Kyrie, it's your first time seeing this so you'll obviously be amazed."
Her long red hair danced along the winds, just as mine does. Her hazel eyes looked down at me with a somewhat warm feeling in them, like she feels comforted by just knowing that I was happy from seeing this scenery.
"Mmm!"
"Damn, what a sight for these sore eyes! Even though it's our second time seeing this, it's still just as impressive as the first!"
Gareth exclaimed in enthusiasm just like me.
"It's for this that we all became adventurers, isn't it?" Jenny replied to him.
"Hmm." (2x) Both brothers nodded their head in agreement.
"See that city over there Kyrie? It's mom and dad's home city, Cross Fang."
"Home city? So you two used to live there huh?"
"That's right. I moved out because of... family issues. Thomas ran out because of different reasons. Oddly enough even though we are from the same city we've never met each other until we started adventuring together."
"I see but... Family issues?"
"Well, it's not something you should worry about."
"...Are we going to meet grandpa and grandma then?"
"....." Mom is quiet...
"...Sorry."
"It's alright. Let's go everyone. We still have to get to the city itself."
"Oh." (4x)
The five of us got back on the horses and followed the road further downhill....
Something tells me that mom doesn't just have family issues, but she have a rather complicated background with her family... Her silence already tells me more than words could've said.
(30 minutes later....)
As we travelled down the mountain's forest road, we quickly stumbled across a stranger heading in the opposite direction.
This in itself is not a particularly odd thing.... If not for the odd clothings of the stranger.
He donned a brown colored robe, and a big straw hat to block out the sun. But the more interesting thing that he has is two swords that is strapped to his waist... Two japanese katanas, just like mine.
Soon, we passes through each other.
"Good afternoon." Gareth greeted him as we pass him.
"....." And he said nothing as he passes through.
"...Hold on." The stranger called out to us.
"...Yes?"
"....The road ahead is dangerous, take care not to be ambushed by goblins."
Goblins huh?... Interesting.
"Thank you for the warning, we'll be careful."
"Mmm." After replying to us, he continued on his way.
"....What a strange man." Said Jenny, who I rode behind.
We travelled for a while longer without much things happening. Until....
"....I smell blood." Gazeth said out, in a tone that implies danger is ahead.
"Everyone ready your weapons, we should proceed on foot." Mom said as she pulls out dad's sword sheathed to her waist.
"Okay." (4x)
We got down the horse and then continued on in caution.... Until we stumbled upon a section of the road where we previously weren't able to see because it was blocked by the trees.
The section of the road is full of corpses... Corpses of goblins.
"What in the world...."
"This is... terrible."
Mom squats down in front of one of the body. "These injuries... They are cut down by sword."
"That man who just passed us a few minutes ago did this right?..." I said to mom.
"Perhaps. Maybe he was hired to take out these goblins, but to do something so dangerous like this by himself is just...."
I inspected the corpses of the goblins... And found that these bodies were all slashed cleanly without any sign of a bad cut. Each goblins were killed with just one slash, one slash that either decapitated their heads, or sliced them in half from the stomach.
"....Even my great sword couldn't make such a clean cut." Gareth said as he stands next to me and inspected the body as well.
"I might just be able to do this with my Blaze Edge but that is because of it's heat.... Whoever that man is, he's extremely dangerous and skilled to be able to do this with a normal katana. We are lucky that he's on our side." I said out.
"Yes..."
1... 2... 10... There's at least 15 bodies of decapitated goblins here, each killed with just one well-timed slash.
That man took on 15 goblins at the same time and killed them without even taking any damage at all, not even I could avoid damage against so many opponents.
"...Let us go, there is nothing more to see here."
"Roger." (4x)
Just who was that man just now?.... He's so powerful with a katana it's insane, is he a swordsman from the Moonfall Continent?
_______________
After another hour of traveling, we soon arrived at the city gate. Just as usual, a line of travellers formed in front of the gate, waiting for entry into the city.
After waiting in line for a while, it was time for us to enter the city.
A few guards inspected our equipments and also compared our face to some wanted criminals....
"....You are all free to enter the city."
"Thank you." I said out.
"Everyone, let's go to the stable and put our horses there."
"Right." (4x)
"...Hold on a moment there, the woman and the girl with red hair." Said one of the guards.
What... are we criminals or something?
"Is something the matter?"
"That face and that hair... You must be of the Barret family right?"
Barret... That's the last name that mom has.
"...You are mistaken."
"I see... Sorry for the inconvenience, you and your daughter may go now."
"Let's go, Kyrie."
"Mmn..."
We went to the stable where we made our horses stay at.
"Katherine, where will we be staying in the city? We should pick a good one because we'll be staying for a while here." Gareth asked out to mom.
"Let's see here... Do you remember the last inn that we stayed in? We could use that."
"Hmm, good choice. Let us go then."
"...You three should go first. I want to talk about something with Kyrielle first."
Talk with me?...
"O-oh... Then we'll give you two some time. Let's go brother, Jenny."
The three headed off into the streets while mom and I stayed in front of the stables.
"Mom, what do you want to say?"
"Kyrie... Do you want to meet your grand parents?"
"....If you don't want to see them, then I won't push it."
"Hmm... I see. Let's go then."
"To where?"
"To the Barret Mansion. It was mom's home and it also is where your grandparents are staying in right now...."
"!"
(Chapter end)