17: Chapter 1.17 :Smack!
17: Chapter 1.17 :Smack!
Chapter 1.17 :Smack!
Ank was lost in thought as his eyes stared through the window, yet he saw nothing outside.
His mind was somewhere else, far away from this village and far away from everything surrounding him.
The memories that had flashed through his mind continued to disturb him, refusing to disappear no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.
Suddenly, a small hand grabbed his wrist.
Before Ank could react or even understand what was happening, Maya began dragging him away from the window.
“Come on.” Ank frowned as he looked at her.
“Maya?” “No.” Maya immediately rejected whatever he was about to say before he could even finish.
“Grandpa told me not to leave you alone.” She tightened her grip around his wrist and continued pulling him forward without giving him any chance to escape.
“So you’re coming with me.” “I don’t want to.” “You don’t have a choice.” Ank looked at her speechlessly, unable to understand how she could completely ignore his opinion without the slightest hesitation.
However, Maya did not care about his expression and continued dragging him away.
A few moments later, Ank found himself standing outside the house.
Before he could ask why she had brought him there, a wooden sword was suddenly shoved into his hands.
Ank looked down at the sword before slowly raising his gaze toward Maya, who was already standing several steps away from him with her own wooden sword pointed directly at him.
“Training starts now.” Ank lowered his head and stared at the wooden sword in his hands.
He did not want to train, fight, or do anything at all.
At that moment, all he wanted was to be left alone with his thoughts.
Ever since that flashback had appeared in his mind, even his will to move forward had slowly begun to disappear.
The blue-haired girl continued appearing in his thoughts.
Her smile.
Her laughter.
The blood covering her body.
And himself carrying her through a battlefield filled with the corpses of millions of gods.
Ank could not understand any of it.
“Ank.” There was no response.
Maya stared at him.
“Ank.” Still, Ank did not respond.
A vein slowly appeared on Maya’s forehead as irritation became clearly visible on her face.
Smack!
The wooden sword struck Ank directly on the forehead.
Ank did not react.
He simply continued standing there, lost within his own thoughts.
Smack!
Another hit landed on his forehead.
Still, there was no reaction.
Maya narrowed her eyes.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
She continued attacking him with the wooden sword without showing the slightest mercy.
Each strike landed on Ank’s forehead, yet he continued ignoring her as though Maya did not even exist.
Finally, just as Maya’s wooden sword was about to strike him again, Ank raised his hand and grabbed it before it could reach his forehead.
“Maya.” “What?” Ank slowly looked at her.
“Why are you beating me?” Maya stared at him for a few moments before placing both hands on her waist.
“Oh, so you’re finally paying attention.” A proud smile immediately appeared on her face as she nodded to herself.
“My strategy worked.” Ank remained silent.
“I was trying to get your attention.” Maya spoke as though she had accomplished something truly incredible.
Judging from the proud expression on her face, she genuinely believed repeatedly hitting Ank on the forehead had been a brilliant strategy.
Then, without warning, Maya dramatically pointed her wooden sword toward the sky.
“Now, I shall show you my newest sword technique.” With exaggerated steps, Maya moved several meters away from Ank.
The wind gently blew through her long black hair as her expression gradually became serious.
Then she began moving.
Her wooden sword danced through the air as each movement smoothly flowed into the next.
She stepped forward and slashed before quickly turning her body and following with a thrust.
Without stopping, she changed her stance and swung the wooden sword once again.
Ank watched her silently.
His face remained expressionless, yet his eyes carefully followed every movement Maya made.
He observed the position of her feet, the movement of her shoulders, and the way she shifted her weight between each attack.
After watching for a while, Ank slowly picked up his own wooden sword.
Without saying a word, he began copying Maya’s technique.
He stepped forward, swung the sword, turned his body, and followed with another strike.
His movements were slower than Maya’s because of his weakened body, yet he continued repeating the technique.
The moment Maya noticed Ank moving again, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
At least he was no longer standing there like a lifeless statue.
Maya smiled before suddenly speaking.
“By the way, do you know what my Blessings are?” “No.” Ank replied immediately without stopping his movements.
“I have two Blessings.” Maya proudly raised her chin.
“My first Blessing is a Fire Blessing.” Among all Normal Blessings, the Fire Blessing was one of the most common and widely known Blessings in existence.
Maya suddenly looked at Ank as though she had remembered something important.
“Oh, you didn’t know this, right?
Blessings are also divided into two categories: Normal Blessings and Special Blessings.” Ank stopped his movements for a moment and looked at Maya.
At first glance, a Fire Blessing appeared simple.
It granted its user the ability to create and control fire.
Yet every experienced Blessing user knew that no two Fire Blessings were ever truly the same.
Unlike Special Blessings, a Fire Blessing did not follow a fixed path.
Its evolution was influenced by the user’s personality, desires, beliefs, experiences, and even their understanding of fire itself.
A warrior who valued destruction might awaken a path of explosions and infernos, transforming every flame into a weapon capable of destroying everything before them.
A blacksmith who spent their entire life forging weapons might evolve toward molten metal and lava, using unbearable heat to create weapons that ordinary flames could never forge.
Someone who sought rebirth and hope might walk the path of the Phoenix, while another person who admired the sun might eventually awaken solar flames capable of illuminating entire worlds.
For this reason, the future of a Fire Blessing could never be predicted.
Two children born with exactly the same Blessing might eventually become completely different beings.
One could command volcanoes, another might wield heavenly flames, while someone else could become the embodiment of destruction.
Another person might become a symbol of rebirth and hope.
This endless potential was what made the Fire Blessing one of the most popular Blessings in existence.
It was not merely the power to control fire.
It was the power to shape fire into a reflection of one’s own soul.
Maya proudly pointed toward herself.
“And my second Blessing is a Special Blessing.
I have a Weapon Blessing.” Among all Special Blessings, the Weapon Blessing was one of the most respected and feared.
Unlike elemental Blessings that evolved according to the user’s desires and experiences, a Weapon Blessing demanded a choice.
A single and permanent choice.
At first, all Weapon Blessing users began the same way.
Their Blessing possessed no fixed form and existed only as a dormant power sleeping deep within their soul.
However, upon reaching the appropriate stage, the Blessing awakened and presented its bearer with a path.
The user could choose a sword, spear, bow, axe, hammer, dagger, or one of the countless other weapons that had existed throughout history.
Once the choice was made, there was no turning back.
The Blessing permanently transformed into that weapon path.
A Sword Blessing user could never become a Spear Blessing user, while a Bow Blessing user could never abandon their path and walk the path of the Axe.
The chosen weapon became an extension of the user’s soul and accompanied them throughout their entire journey.
As the Blessing evolved, so did the weapon.
A simple sword could become twin swords.
Twin swords could evolve into spirit swords, and spirit swords might eventually become divine swords capable of cutting through mountains, oceans, and even space itself.
Because of their absolute specialization, Weapon Blessing users were considered some of the most dangerous combatants in the world.
Their versatility was lower than that of many elemental users, yet within their chosen field, they often stood unmatched.
While others pursued countless different paths, a Weapon Blessing user dedicated their entire existence to mastering a single one.
“So, I am a genius.” Maya placed one hand on her chest and proudly raised her chin.
A mysterious smile appeared on her face as her black hair gently fluttered in the wind.
“The Universe itself blessed me with two Blessings.” She slowly closed her eyes as though she were some legendary master standing at the peak of the world.
“Such talent only appears once in a generation.” Maya opened one eye and glanced at Ank.
“You should feel honored to train beside someone as extraordinary as me.” She crossed her arms and nodded to herself with complete confidence.
“Indeed, the future strongest Blessing user has already appeared.” Maya paused dramatically before pointing at herself.
“And that person is me.” She then looked at Ank expectantly, clearly waiting for him to respond.
“You may praise me now.
Don’t be shy.
I know it’s difficult to find the right words when standing before greatness.” Ank silently stared at Maya.
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
After thinking for a few seconds, he decided that remaining silent was probably the best option.
Maya continued staring at him.
Ank continued staring back.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Maya turned away with a dissatisfied expression.
“You really don’t know how to praise someone.” After that, Ank and Maya continued their training.
Maya practiced with endless enthusiasm, repeatedly performing her sword technique and correcting even the smallest mistakes in her movements.
Ank, on the other hand, continued moving only because Maya was forcing him to train.
Yet slowly, without Ank realizing it, his attention began shifting away from the memories that had been tormenting him.
His wooden sword moved again and again as he repeated Maya’s technique, carefully copying each movement he had observed.
Although his body was weak, his eyes remained sharp, and every mistake he made was corrected the next time he repeated the technique.
Neither Ank nor Maya noticed that something far greater had already begun to move.
Fate had already taken its first step.
Far away from the village, two figures were making their way toward Duskwild.
Their destination was the meteor site, the place where the calamity had descended one and a half years ago and where countless mysteries still remained buried beneath the destruction.
They had come for only one reason.
To investigate.
They wanted to uncover the truth behind what had happened on that day and understand the origin of the meteor that had brought destruction to the land.
Neither of them knew that their arrival would change everything.
They did not know that they were about to step into a story far greater than anything they had ever imagined, a story centered around a fifteen-year-old boy named Ank.
A story that would one day shake the world itself.
And without realizing it, those two figures were about to become the ones responsible for opening the door to Ank’s first bloodbath.