"Mmm..."
Leo Ashford’s eyelashes fluttered. Slowly, he woke up.
He blinked again and again. His lashes were so long that any girl would have been jealous.
He sat up fast.
"Am I... alive?"
He patted his body. Everything was fine. He let out a long breath.
The forest was quiet. Only birds chirped in the trees.
Then he looked down. The wild herbs sat neatly beside him.
He rubbed his temples, confused.
*Did I really fall asleep? Was it all just a dream?*
Then he saw his finger.
Wait. What’s that?
A blue ring glowed softly on his hand. The shine didn’t look like metal. It looked like fine porcelain, or a precious stone. A golden circle was carved around it. In the middle sat a tiny gem, no bigger than a grain of rice, set tight and smooth. He could feel its cool surface under his thumb.
The inside of the ring was solid gold. When he pressed it near his finger, it felt like it was pushing back, just a little. A strange feeling ran through him.
He stared at it.
So what happened before he blacked out was real! His mind filled with questions.
What was the link between the mute girl and the man in white? How did that man make those scary hunters disappear? And who did this ring really belong to?
For a nine-year-old, it was all too much. He had no answers.
He stood up. Without thinking, he walked toward the place where the black-clad men had vanished.
A few steps in, he knew something was wrong.
The ground had been green with grass. Now it was bare and dead. Deep cracks split the earth in many places. Farther ahead, there were black burn marks on the grass. And beyond that, the burns faded into dark green soil again.
Leo shook his head.
"Forget it. Stop thinking about it. I need to go home. Mama’s herb soup won’t make itself."
He checked that the Elemental Training Liquid was still safe. Then he went to pick up his Wooden Sword.
The moment he lifted it, he froze.
The sword felt light. Light as a feather!
This was no Genuine Knight blade. It was made of hard wood and weighed almost four kilos. When Leo first joined Eldrin Hall, it took him a whole month just to learn how to swing it.
*Did the sword get lighter? No. It looks exactly the same. Then... did I get stronger?*
He gripped it with both hands and lunged at the empty air.
*Swish!*
The power of his own swing scared him. But his hands didn’t shake at all. He could feel it clearly. His arms, his legs, even his bones were many times stronger.
He jumped a few times. His whole body felt as light as the sword.
*This is at least as strong as someone with 20 Spiritual Energy, right?*
He remembered the mute girl’s calm, stubborn face. He whispered.
"Did you give me this? Tomorrow, I’ll hit the wooden block and test my Spiritual Energy again."
A kid’s heart isn’t complicated. So many strange things had happened today. But then he thought of Mama, finally able to drink the Elemental Training Liquid again, and he put everything else aside.
After all, the girl was just a stranger he had met by chance. All he could do was pray, deep in his heart, that she would be safe.
A small yard. Two thatched rooms. A few shelves wrapped in vines. Some vegetables drying in the sun.
This was Leo’s home.
"Mama, I’m back!"
The straw door opened, and a village woman stepped out.
Leo smiled the second he saw her. He ran straight to her.
She was Elena Ashford, Leo’s mother.
Leo’s face looked so much like hers, it was as if he had been made from the same mold. Elena wore plain clothes. She had suffered through so many hardships. Even so, her beauty could make anyone’s heart skip.
There was only one difference between their faces. Their eyes. Elena’s eyes were black. Leo’s were a deep blue.
But that beauty had made her life even harder.
Before Leo was born, people often bothered and harassed her. Somehow, those troubles passed. But it was a wonder that anyone could live through a life like that.
They had come to Eldrin Town under an agreement. But they had to live in a lonely, forgotten corner of town. Elena earned a little money by washing other people’s clothes. It barely covered what they needed.
"Lolo, you’re back! How was the test?"
Elena rushed over, full of joy. She lifted her son and hugged him tight.
Nine-year-old Leo only reached her waist.
Wrapped in his mother’s soft, gentle scent, he said happily,
"Mama, I passed!"
Elena smiled.
"I knew it. My Lolo is the best. Go wash your hands and face. Mama will make lunch for you."
Leo jumped out of her arms.
"No, Mama, I’ll cook! I brought wild herbs. I’m going to make soup for you to drink."
He turned and headed straight for the hut.
At the door, he couldn’t help looking back at her.
He didn’t know why. But Mama looked truly, truly happy today. Usually, she didn’t talk much during the day.
Elena watched her son walk into the kitchen. She whispered softly.
"Lolo, you live such a hard life, but..."
She sighed. A storm of feelings showed in her eyes. But in the end, she pushed down everything that was about to spill out.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Leo woke up early. He ate the breakfast Mama made and rushed off to Eldrin Hall.
All night, he had dreamed of yesterday. Even the moment when the mute girl slipped the ring onto his finger.
He was so excited that he couldn’t wait. He wanted to know, right now, how much his Spiritual Energy had grown.
He arrived so early that nobody else was at Eldrin Hall yet.
Not that there was much to guard. Eldrin Hall had nothing valuable inside. Not even Master Garron was there. He trained the knights, and he lived just behind the hall.
Leo walked to the wooden block, the same spot as yesterday. He pulled the Wooden Sword from his back.
Today, he was here to prove he was right.
He slowly lifted the sword and calmed his mind. Power gathered in his legs. He took a deep breath.
And in the next moment, the Wooden Sword came down at full speed.
*Thud!*—*Swish!*—*CRACK!*
Leo’s eyes went wide.
That wasn’t the sound he was expecting.