“This world is definitely underdeveloped” Mane sighed as he looked over the information he had been given. Dan arrived at his room only minutes ago to complete the final transfer. Yes, you heard right – final transfer. Mane assumed that the books were well compiled sources of information, but he was wrong. Sure they were called books just like in other worlds, but these so called books were just large sheets of paper bundled together and held by a very long string! The sheets weren’t light and crispy like what Mane was used to, rather they were hard and heavy and it was difficult to carry more than a few dozen at once. Dan delivered seven different bundles of these ‘books’. He had taken almost ten trips to bring them all here. The state of these ‘books’, brought a few things to Mane’s attention.
Firstly, the papers were rough and coarse because they weren’t delicately processed. It wasn’t because Dan was poor o
Mane was given seven books by Dan. Although the author was unknown, Mane thought that it was likely that this person was a friend of Dan’s. A friend, or a subordinate.The books gave very detailed explanations of the current testing ground. Although this world didn’t have a name, all other information that pertained to its current affairs and the affairs of the few years before this one were mentioned in the book.This unknown world didn’t have any grand territories. There weren’t any magnificent kingdoms or empires, neither were there any associations of power that kept things in check. But there were common professions – jobs that people of this world have grown accustomed to in order to survive. However, before the professions could be properly introduced, it was necessary to understand more about the ones who shared the planet with the humans – the Magical Beasts.Magical Beasts were creatures that were far stronger than n
Within a small courtyard, there was a straw dummy. There was nothing particularly fancy about the dummy. It was crudely made and was nailed to the ground by a large iron rod. This dummy was positioned at one of the four corners of the courtyard. Usually this dummy was all alone, but not today. Today, there was someone standing right in front of the dummy. This person was a tall teenager with curiously good looks. The teenage boy was focused on striking the dummy in front of him. His brilliant golden hair swayed with every strike, and his steely blue eyes were filled with determination. His young face looked a tad bit more mature because of his beard. Every now and then, he’d stop to wipe off the sweat that got into his eyes. Then, he would continue. This boy was obviously Mane.*Bang**Bang*The loud sounds of the dummy being struck filled the courtyard for a good dozen minutes. Other than the few times Mane stopped to clean his sweat, he never gave himsel
“Since you are so great, why don’t we have a spar” Mane wanted to spar with Dan? Over the past few weeks, they had sparred a few times. Every time they fought, it was with a handicap. Dan only fought with one arm. He always fought with only his left arm, and never used his right arm or his legs. Mane who knew that Dan was right-handed, was very much aware of the fact that Dan had never fought seriously. It served to reinforce his belief that Dan was a First Generation Mystic Path Warrior who survived the battle against the Winged Serpent. His reasoning was simple.Although Mane wasn’t able to use any inner energy, the more he trained, the more his soul got used to this body. Hildegarde informed him that his injuries didn’t seem like ones caused by a banshee, and Mane assented. After learning about banshees, Mane knew that their attacks targeted the brain. Once their target became disoriented or had his/her brain ruptured, they would kill them ins
Mane dashed towards Dan with his arms tucked in. The veins on his arms throbbed as Mane prepared his muscles for a devastating attack. His legs moved speedily, and he covered a lot of ground quickly. Dan watched Mane’s approach with an approving smile. But within that smile, was a tinge of seriousness. Although he looked laid back, Mane didn’t leave any openings to be exploited. Finally, Mane reached Dan. He took a deep breath and prepared to unleash a strong punch.*Whoo*Dan jumped backwards in retreat as Mane exhaled. But the punch he was expecting never came. Mane who looked like he was about to put all his energy into his fists, kept them tucked in, and dashed to Dan’s side.“I see,” Dan mumbled to himself when he finally understood what was going on. Mane had a good head for battles. Dan wondered if the boy had received some sought of training before he lost his memory, since there was no other explanation for his strange and
“Dan! Is everything okay?!” A raspy voice sounded from behind the door. The voice which reeked of old age was full of concern, and Mane could tell that whoever it was thought highly of Dan.“I’m fine, Old Fan,” Dan opened the wooden door to reveal three figures. Two of the visitors were young, and the last person was an old man. All of them were fair skinned, and standing next to Dan was like looking at night and day standing side by side. The old man held a wooden stick on which he entrusted to bear his weight. His back was hunched, and his head was full of gray hair. His wrinkled face looked kind, and his smile gave one a feeling of comfort. Mane’s first thought seeing the man was, “He looks so kind.” The younger ones behind him shared a bit of resemblance with the old man. They were a young handsome boy, and a beautiful and naïve looking girl. The boy wasn’t as tall as Mane, but he wasn’t far off. He had
“Who is that twerp,” Mane ignored the approaching group and turned to question Lam who stood on his left? Lam and Lily stopped walking, so Mane stopped as well.“The Village Head’s son,” Lam took some time to answer, likely startled by the fact that Mane called the son of the Village Head a twerp. Unlike his earlier smiling demeanor, Lam was back to his strict expression. His eyes as he looked at the approaching group were cold and expressionless. Like millennium old ice tempered by the waters of Cocytus, Lam’s gaze sought to freeze the incoming group over.“He doesn’t seem to like you much,” Mane smiled, noticing Lam’s change. It seemed that Lam was the kind of person who was generous and outspoken to those he liked, and repulsive and cold to those he disliked.“The feeling is mutual,” Lam answered calmly. Beneath that layer of calm was a bubbling lake of anger. But Lam’s feminine voi
“This place is huge,” Mane marveled at the simple yet gorgeous structures that filled the village! Since he had never left Dan’s place, he didn’t know much about the village. But this little sightseeing session with the twins allowed him to see a lot of things. Although the houses in the village were simple, they were exquisitely made. The streets were narrow, but were beautifully decorated with gorgeous flowers that brightened up the place. The villagers sure took their time to make this place elegant.“What,” Mane turned to face Lam who was looking at him with a strange expression?“Why are you acting as though nothing happened,” Lam asked? He was staring at Mane like the boy was a rare specimen. His expression as he questioned Mane was reminiscent of a man who had just seen something unbelievable, but didn’t have the time to appreciate it. He wondered how Mane was able to continue sightseeing with such a natural
Within the residence which was at the centre of the village, the residence assigned to the Village Head, two people were having a conversation.“How is he,” a middle aged man with a few strands of gray in his hair, asked the only other person sharing the room with him?“He is fine – generally. Right now he is asleep, but he is definitely in pain” The person who replied the middle aged man was an old man with a hump. The old man was clad in several strange chains and amulets, and even his ankles weren’t spared from the binding of these ornaments. His eyes were completely white, and his hair was fully gray. There was a huge ring hanging on his nose, and his lower lip had been pierced with a small rod. In simple terms, he was a queer looking old man.The middle aged man looked perturbed by the reply the old man gave him. Unlike the old man who embodied the word ‘eccentric’, the middle aged man was quite the looker. He