Hero chapter 1

“Hey Gailas, are you still looking to enter the Knights academy?”. The annoyingly familiar voice talked at my back. “You know that only 100 people of the top list can pass”.

I knew that very well and for the 4 years I was preparing for it as hard as I could. As being a low born only best options from the star was only train my physical strength and get recruited in army as an (easily disposable) soldier, mercenary or a farmer for some fat overeaten noblemen. But my aim was higher; I wanted to become knight as absurd as it sounded.

“Why do you want to become knight?”.  One of the executives asked when the time came to pass three trials which first one was a psychological test and if you fail one you fail all. “As I remember this is your third try. Do you expect this time will be any different?”

“I need money”. I answered honestly since these old men easily see through any person’s nature even if they are best liars in the world. Cunning abilities won’t work since the strange magic used in room could measure your mind waves. That’s how I failed first time.

For some reason they were questioning personal questions which previously I didn’t had to answer.

After discussing between themselves for a while, which of course made me nervous, they let me pass this test but with warning about temptation to greed which might bring me down if I don’t watch myself with caution.

It’s not like I cared about it, I somehow have to feed myself.

Next test was magically crafted dungeon in which who passed first trial could enter. It tested coordination and navigational abilities. Orientating around place was easy for me since the layout didn’t change much from the last time, just puzzles were more challenging and more symbolic understanding of ancient language was needed this time to decipher its true meaning of words. As a low born of course I would not have accessibility to this knowledge but luckily my uncle worked as capital’s library nightshift guard and time to time he smuggled some expensive books for me to read, which in exchange gave me knowledge to prepare for this test.

After finishing last puzzle which took really some time I arrived at the last test place where I failed second time, the actual battle tournament.

This “tournament” was no ordinary either since winning doesn’t guarantee passing it. It’s more like to see how much physical and especially magical potential participant has and how much it can be improved.

The part I lacked was basic magic understanding even if I could use some basic self-taught spells. After demonstrating it to impress judges I accidentally lost control of mana and almost burned myself out from inside from a simple “fire ball” spell.  The pain was so intolerable that I pass out on spot. 

After waking up in hospital ward I understood that was saved, but in exchange I lost sense of mana and could not concentrate it anymore. Small sparkle on my finger which quickly faded away was the best effort I could do.

Then what was the point to try again? I would be asked.  Well I got another trick on my sleeve.

After watching few impressive and dozens not so much matches the time was for me to step into this arena again and my opponent was… typical snobbish rich kid from well-known family whose name I don’t remember.

“Look at your hair, did crows crapped your head so much that it become whiter than s**t?”. And he had a loud mouth too. He tried to taunt me unsuccessfully few times with no results which in exchange irritated him more since I did not react to him but… “Your mother might have been a skunk, birthing you out of her stinky a*s, which I could smell mile away”.

This brat insulted my dearest person I ever had. I give him no mercy.

After the time to fight came I charged at him without delay suppressing my aura and when the distance was right I released it with full killing intent right beside him. This instant aura release was felt even to other side of building making a small confusion, even momentarily stopped the fighting over there.

The rich brat might never had left his comfy home surroundings or got any fights since he was pissing-shitting in his pants  and having seizure at the same time making him unable move at all due the mental breakdown.

“Never talk bad things about my mother ever again”. I said as I left arena to await results and next mach.

The attack which I demonstrated was a non-lethal simple aura shock which sends energy surge around designated area. Any living being could perform it in some extend and it usually used to measure users physical capabilities. Those who experienced at least one serious fight or done serious training should not be affected by it at all.

My variation had a little “spice” on it, since my swordsmanship was on apprentice/advanced level  my attack level would not be that high. After that accident a strange power awoke in me which I noticed when healed I returned home. My stepfather, who was released from 5 years of sentence for thieving and blackmailing, returned. As I remember he was a total scum who spend most of his time drinking, hitting on prostitutes and swaying younger women and when he returned from his” adventures” he always beat my mother because she did not “loved” him the way he wanted. With my younger brother and sister tried to protect her but he was too strong little kids like us. After beating us too, especially me since I wasn’t his real offspring, he forced us to watch how he violently raped her. Later he would go to sleep and next morning he once again disappear and after few weeks or months to return and do the same thing once again.

As I saw broken doors I instantly understood of his markings and painful screams were the sign that he was doing his job. As I opened the door I saw something that I did not expected to see that scumbag was literally feasting my on my mother and her blood was soaked all over the wooden floor as we was doing it for quite a while and two hulked men with hoods were standing by side a watching this horrific act as my mother’s life slowly faded.

My presence was noticed and as that cannibalistic scum showed his face which was bloody and almost not human with red glowing eyes.

“Well what a surprise”. He said creepily smiling. “All grown up, won’t you hug your father?”.

After standing up he slowly was moving towards me which terrified me as the traumatic memories were returning to me. But after seeing what he did here the fury inside me unlocked something new. But before I could do anything I was instantly with inhuman speed leaped on me and pushed outside though open doors. The huge pushing force by that scum lifted me from the ground and after literally flying few meters I was smashed on the ground.

“How do you like my new power, it wasn’t cheap to get…”. His hot bloody spits were drooling on my face as he tacked and his appearance was changing into monster.  His sharp claws were pearling and crushing my arms was he transformed into more dog shaped.

As he was about to bite me I kicked him in to his crouch as my legs were free, which for the moment loosened up his hold on me which was enough to push him away from me. I tried to use some magic on him while that beasty scum was stunned but without feeling of mana I could not do anything so instead I grabbed nearest log and smash that beast’s head.

But I was too late to land hit on him when his hand pierced though me I knew I was going die but as I began to lose my consciousness from blood loss and pain the last glimpse on that scumbags face made me fell the anger along with that strange feeling for which I lost control of my body.

Next thing I remember as I grabbed the hairy hand that still was piercing me and squashed it and pulled out of my chest. Only thing was obsessing me were the thoughts of making creature feel excruciating pain which he did to my mother.

Furious he from pain I caused he rushed with his other hand which I evaded and easily ripped from his body by the shoulder.

The power surge I felt was awesome and it seemed that I could do anything as my wounds also rapidly healed. Seening and feeling my emerging power, beast began show signs of fear. He was afraid of me as I was of him those ears ago. Ignoring surroundings I stepped towards him as he tried to flee as he sensed the death coming to him.

“YOU THINKING TO GET WAY FOR ME YOU COWARD!!!”. My voice stunned beast from fear.

“G-get away from me you m-monster”.

Monster? He called me a monster? He, who is my source of hate dared to call me a monster?.

To cause more physical pain with all my power I concentrate I punched few times in to his gut. From a gushing blood beast could not talk at all, broke his legs and by putting my paw on his face I poked his left eye and tried to crush his deformed skull.

“I WON’T LET YOU DIE YET!!!”. I shouted as I was about to do other sadistic things to him but…

“Brother, stop it!”. I heard a familiar voice from afar. It was my little sister who from the look was more terrified to see me like this than her father in deformed form. “Why you are like this, how come you look like a father, are you going cause to us and mama pain too?”.

“Julia is right; I’m not like you, scumbag”. I said directly and released him. As I was calming down my physical power returned to normal. My muscle and head were fatigued. I barely could move or feel my body.

At the moment of my weakness one of the hooded men from before appeared before my sister and snatched her, then disappeared in using portal magic. The other one appeared before me and took that crippled scumbag and was about to the same but I somehow managed to grab his coat and ask.

 “Where did you taken her?”

Seeing my helpless state he pushed me aside telling only these words. From hot vibration of his body I could tell that I would be no match for him even with that strange power.

“Dark Queen doesn’t need broken toys”.

This was actual reference to me. Then he got teleported too.

“Mother…”. Suddenly momentarily forgotten thing came to my mind. As I was in rage I totally forgot about her. With pain I rushed as fast as I could but she was already at the last her life minutes. Laid her to bed and bandaged her severe wounds with everything I could find but it was too late. There was nothing I could do now. By looking in her eyes I knew that it happened again.

My mother had a rare mental disease which like rested her memory to a certain day forgetting almost everything what happened before and it repeated sometimes once a day or once every few weeks, moths. When it happened she easily once again was accepting her “new” environment as we accepted her memory loss.

This was one of the reasons why she could not leave this scumbag since she always remembered him from the past. According to her that scum was actually noble and gentle man who was known and respected by everyone in this land and far beyond as it was impossible as it sounds but I did not had an interest in these past stories as I knew who he was now.

“Gailas”. She told me which was strange considering her condition. “I need to tell something important”.

I was beside her bed to have the last conversation with her.

“The seal of our family’s curse has been released. My father and your grandfather called it blessing but as far as out linage goes it only gave pain and suffering and doomed every person who wielded it, including me” Her words reminded to me a small fragments of my grandpa’s favorite fables which I only remember little of it. “Causing you, Julia and little Hector a suffering… even to Markus.”

In her condition I could not tell that Julia was kidnaped and Hector is still missing.

“Please, Gailas, promise me that you won’t ever use it or let experience this treacherous curse to out kin ever again…”

Her hand began to get colder as she too descended into unwakeable* dream.

“I wish I could make that promise”. I said to her even though she already could not hear me. “But there must be work to be done”.

For the moment I felt Hector’s presence near me. He loved sneak on people who was like breathing to him and give a good scare for laugh.

Since I “allowed” detecting him, his focus must has been disturbed and the reason was obvious.

“Don’t do anything foolish”. I said but his presence was already gone. Knowing his nature, he will find his own way to do things right but I have to scold him for doing things too hastily if our patch cross again. And I did not wanted to sound insensitive but as he was now it was impossible to find and help him the way I wanted to even knowing his favorite locations. I hope he make least trouble than it is. The warning I said should have been applied to me too since I was going to do the same thing in my own way, revenge.

After thinking some time I concluded 3 tasks to accomplish:

1.     1.   Get into academy and become Knight. This is the best place to find information and train which is normally inaccessible. I hope I past this time.

2.     2.   Find and rescue Julia, which should be first task but with my current knowledge, affinities, resources and power I dough that I could go far. I hope she wasn’t killed.

3.     3.  Get revenge for mother. Even how she disagree of this action, I can’t let murderers have their own way unpunished.

I buried mother on hill where my grandfather and biological father who died before my birth and mother hardly even talked about him saying that he died like a fool he was. Maybe I’m a fool too, who knows.

On the self-made grave stone I wrote the name: Claudia. Which wasn’t her real name but she liked to be called that. Her name was unknown to us, her children too. I never questioned it, there might be some personal reason to it which will be permanently unknown.

The next examination was next year, during that time I studied, trained and tried invoke this power at least for a little bit since it didn’t respond the way I wanted giving intense pain than actual results of control. I knew that I was doing something wrongly but I had any clue or instruction’s how to handle it only hope what my instincts experience though trial and error could tell.

The first successful result was a power up for aura shock skill which I could maintain for few seconds which was useful for distraction/confusion and look/make openings. After training more I managed to shorten the resting time before I could use that skill again and not overuse it since it was hard enough to maintain my other violent personality in check which trying to emerge during usage and get less fatigue as possible to body and mind or it might become troublesome if battle didn’t ended.