Land of Mirriam

The boy used his all to pull up the carcass of the monstrous fish, although bloody he forcefully opened the mouth of the fish to let air enter it so that it would remain afloat. He only had one more sword remaining as he climbed out of the reddish water. He searched for his bag, there was still some dried meat that was ready for consuming, after taking some he began to fall asleep. Still blood drifted on the air, the water in the spring was still in red. His wounds started healing by itself.

In the morning the boy woke up with all of his wounds closed and fine. He was really hungry and his stomach rumbled. He stared at the carcass of the large fish floating on the spring. A few ideas started floating in his head, he enjoyed processing his hunts.

The fish's fins were exceptionally sturdy, and one side was particularly sharp... not to mention he had four pieces of them from the fish. He decided to stay near the spring for a while to make another weapon from the fins.

He then gazed at the broken hilt of the old man's sword. Annoyed, frustrated, or perhaps unwilling to accept it—although it was just a broken hilt, he couldn't bring himself to let it go. He secured the broken sword hilt in his bag, ensuring it wouldn't come loose ever again.

Half a day had already passed, he already finished 3 swords and he was practicing the latest one fine tuning it. Along the practice swings he tried to use magic edge but he ultimately failed. The boy could feel something from the monster blade. He imbued it with magic. It created water that soared into the air. He could control it too.

“Cool as hell,” Simon said, smiling as if he had found a new toy. He swung the sword and it created a water blade. The boy smiled celebrating his new weapon. There were four pieces of it, each of different sizes. Now he had a piece of the mantis sword and four water fins, as he named them.

Simon sighed... then he looked at the carcass of the large fish. He would probably stay for a while. He began preparing for a fire, though he needed to go far from the water since everything in the area was wet.

“You should at least taste good...” Simon said to the corpse of the fish. He was well-practiced with fish carving.

<--->

Days passed. Simon's trek continued, with some troubles along the way that he managed well.

One of the most annoying things about the dark forest was its denizens. The monkey vermin that would annoy the hell out of him, the giant mantis that was everywhere, and a larger mantis that was tinted with red. There would be spiked boars that would release spikes when attacked, actually the only ones that were edible.

‘Luckily, I can see in the dark,’ he thought as he walked into the blinding night. He could see enemies clearly, evading the annoying ones. Slaying the yummy ones, but there was something he had been evading for the past few days. He had seen it only twice, but it was in the shape of a human.

A very tall human.

<--->

A few days ago.

It was inevitable that the large birds which fed on the monster monkeys would start preying on him. It seemed they were in search of stronger enemies. Two confronted him, taunting him into a fight.

The eagle was big, wings of dark and brown on the outer side of the edges, it was majestic as it landed on the ground. The eagle cawed and pecked at the ground, flapping its wings to appear larger. No words were needed; it was an obvious challenge.

He set down his things and drew a water blade. It was time to put it to the test.

Beak against sword, claw against wit. The eagle remained grounded, playing to Simon's advantage by engaging in battle on equal footing. Simon answered the respect by battling against it equally.

The eagle wondered how the boy was evading his claws “CAWW!!!” Of course, it was enjoying the battle too.

The two locked, beak and sword “Aw yeah! My blade is cool, eh?!” Simon enjoyed the challenge. He was overpowering the eagle and the eagle was surprised. It broke their standoff by deflecting his sword while hovering a bit to make distance against the boy.

The eagle began launching wind blades and Simon with water blades respectively. The dance of death played out beautifully. The other eagle, witnessing the fight, understood the duel and watched intently.

Despite accumulating cuts all over its body, the eagle didn’t stop. It intensified the fight, hovering a little as it sent wind blades with its left and right claws. Simon parried and counterattacked with a water blade.

Their ranged magic battle continued as the two closed the distance between them, until finally, they engaged in melee combat again.

Claws, beaks, and swords clashed relentlessly.

“Aargh!!!” Simon's cry echoed amidst the chaos. Blood trickled from cuts on his shoulder and leg, the latter wound deeper than he realized. “It hurts!!!” he yelled, the pain searing through him. Aware of the perilous stakes of wild duels, Simon swiftly leaped away from the melee.

He was enjoying the waterblade launching and it made him a bit reliant on it, the old man warned him before but old habits die hard. Despite the pain, he managed a smile. The other eagle watched, flapping its wings in what seemed like a celebration. Getting more injuries would be a problem for his journey.

Simon focused intently. The eagle quickly noticed the change in his demeanor; he was ready to end the confrontation with his next move.

He assumed a standard stance, with his sword held forward and his feet firmly planted on the ground. Then, he swiftly dashed forward, lowering his position. The eagle unleashed wind blades, but Simon's quick, low dash left no room for the eagle to adjust its aim, enabling him to dodge them. “Thanks for the lesson!!!” he exclaimed.

The water blade from his sword could take on various shapes. As he thrust forward, instead of a blade, a piercing stream of water shot from his sword, creating a fatal wound in the eagle's body, causing instant death.

Turning to the other spectating eagle, Simon emitted a powerful bloodlust, causing the eagle to cower and flee. “I'll have some chicken then…” Simon remarked. He had recently discovered that magical creatures tasted delicious when barbecued.

<--->

It took him 3 hours to prepare the bird meat. He was now grilling a portion of it, planning to turn the bird's claws into a knife. He had obtained 4 pieces, but 2 broke during the battle.

“Hmm, the salt really makes all the difference…” Simon remarked as he began cutting into the large piece of meat on the grill. He intended to stay in the area for a while, having found a suitable spot among the roots of the trees, which formed natural corridors, including a small hidden pocket of space with a spring of fresh water inside.

He began to eat, aware of the necessity to extinguish the fire before nightfall. Given the wound on his leg, which he anticipated would heal in just one night, his regeneration was impressive; even the old man would be astonished by how swiftly he recovered after their intense training sessions

<--->

“I've never seen someone kill a Hounded Hawk solo,” remarked one of Simon's observers. Ever since a commotion near their holy spring, the three had been tasked with investigating the situation.

Earlier, they had come across a young boy feasting on a large fish. Knowing that anyone who had defeated the Grim Fish that inhabited their holy spring couldn't be a normal human, they quickly abandoned the idea of resolving the issue through violence.

The Grim Fish had been residing in their holy spring for fifty years already, and they didn't mind its presence since it would perish in another hundred years or so. In fact, the boy's slaying of the fish was seen as a great service to them.

Their secretive clan had always struggled with interacting with humans, which left the three in a predicament. They didn't know how to approach the boy, who was impressive but also quite intimidating to them.

“We'll continue to observe him,” their leader, the son of the clan chieftain, decided. The other two simply nodded in agreement.

<--->

After a while, Simon recovered, taking four days to do so. During this time, he managed to craft the eagle's claws into small knives. What made them particularly interesting was that whenever he channeled magic, the knives would also emit some form of air magic.

Then, one day, he was finally confronted by three cloaked beings, the ones he had sensed following him.

“There were three of you?” he questioned.

One of the cloaked figures stepped forward, revealing a tall, dark-skinned being with long ears and a slight hint of fur. Clearly armed with either a sword or a bow on their back.

“I am Afara... And you? Who are you?”

“My name is Simon, and I'm heading into the eastern frontier. They said this was a good route to take.” The three who heard his reason appeared visibly furious at the casual manner in which he walked through the trek; he didn't even attempt to conceal his presence. Although it wasn't his intention, they perceived it as a clear mockery.

“You don't know what you're saying! This is the Black Forest, unless you—!” Simon drew his sword. “Stop agitating him!” Afara warned one of the cloaked forest folk who suddenly burst out.

Simon began to exude bloodlust. “I don't want any trouble. I tried riding a ship, but they tried to rip me off…” The latter part was a quick excuse. Simon knew there were trust issues between humans and nonhumans, and he hoped it would paint him in a favorable light.

“We want your weapons. We'll guide you out to the east, but in exchange, you'll leave us your weapons to make…” Afara said.

“That's extortion... You know I can travel alone…” Simon's bloodlust diminished.

“If you let us guide you, it'll take less time.”

It was a sensible offer. “Hmm... I'll give you the others, but not this one... Out of all the battles, this one was the toughest... This one's mine,” Simon declared, displaying the fin blade.

Afara and his group understood his sentiment. He then extended his hand for a shake. “I can't believe this human child is…” Afara hit the head of the same person who burst out earlier.

“Check his eyes…”

<--->

One stroke, perfectly timed, and landing perfectly. That was how Simon described the slashes he executed to bring down the monsters they encountered. Despite the forest folks' attempts to avoid the creatures, Simon insisted on engaging in combat.

“Young one... you are very strong,” Afara remarked as he watched Simon dismember the slain monster's parts. The forest folks knew Simon would attempt to eat, as he did with all the monsters they encountered along the way. “And perpetually hungry,” Afara added, observing the large snake Simon had felled with one strike.

“This sharp tail would make a good weapon... take it!” Simon offered him the bloody tail.

“Teach me how you do that!” demanded one of the hooded forest folk.

“Forgive him, he is very young... he hasn’t seen much of the world,” Afara apologized for the forest folk's cocky behavior.

Simon smiled. After traveling with them for a while and engaging in conversations, he realized that their concept of time differed greatly due to their longer lifespans. Recalling the words his master, the old man, had taught him, Simon shared, “Think first from the beginning of your movement to its end, then move without hesitation.”

<--->

Simon waved goodbye as he departed. Despite having plenty of meat on his back, the forest folk declined his offer. “Are you sure you don't want any meat?” he asked once more, just to confirm.

“No... these weapons are what we want... thank you.” Afara reassured the boy.

With a few strides, Simon left, disappearing into the clearing.

“Don't forget the leaves!!! You'll ruin our ecosystem if you keep slaughtering animals and monsters!!!” Afara's voice echoed after him. Simon glanced back and waved once more. The leaves served as a special signaling tool for the forest folk to guide him through their forest.

<--->

The three carrying the weapons they acquired from Simon began their trek back to their village.

“How can he do that... even thinking about it, it seems impossible to cut down the monsters in one swoop,” remarked one of them.

“Well, for his age, he was really good... but with these weapons, we stand a chance. We can defend the village, or even expand it,” Afara said, smiling at the thought.

“If we can figure out how the kid is using the weapon as a magical catalyst, we will be invincible,” the cocky forest folk declared, a fiery glint in his eyes.