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Half A Hero 48
Ghwyr fell on his knees with just one gentle push. His knees haven’t recovered it strength yet. He had been trying to hit the instructor for a few minutes now, but all he did was hit nothing but air. He tried using the zigzag attack again, but as it turned out, Heffer had already predicted it and simply pushed him by the shoulder.“You’re still in no shape to fight, and yet you want to continue?” The one-eyed instructor asked.Ghwyr used his wooden sword to get up to his feet. His arms burned as he pushed himself back up, yet his eyes were fixed on Heffer.“N-not… yet… done.” He said as he heaved his breathe.“Oh, so you’re still going at it, huh?” The one-eyed swordsman was unimpressed. “Fine, let’s dance.” He gestured Ghwyr to attack at once.Showing no fear, Ghwyr screamed and rushed towards the arrogant instructor. However, his legs had failed him again. As he was about to lunge at Heffer, his knees gave out, stopping his momentum immediately.He kneeled on the floor, cursing unde
Half A Hero 49
“Left… right… left…rig—left?” Ghwyr could barely catch-up Heffer’s attacks. He kept on counting the one-eyed swordsman’s movement and strikes, but every time he thought he had caught up to it, the swordsman changes his tempo.“Right!” Heffer smirked as he sneaked into Ghwyr’s right flank and went for a piercing stab.Ghwyr was able to parry it at the last second. The impact of the attack flung him to the wall, winding him.“A parry at that angle?” Heffer looked at the chipped part of his wooden blade. “Quite impressive all things considered. Did you know how many times you’ve died already?” He pointed his weapon at Ghwyr once again.“Y-you… h-h-haven’t… killed me… yet.” Ghwyr replied as he turned to Heffer.The one-eyed swordsman scowled at his answer. “Hmmm… maybe you’re right. So, how about I end it now?” Heffer dashed towards him before disappearing from his line of sight.Ghwyr tumbled forward as he tried to avoid the assault. He wasn’t sure where the attack would come from, but h
Half A Hero 50
Ghwyr waited for the blade to descend into his head and end his misery. But the dreaded moment didn’t come. He opened his eyes and saw the blade just above his head.“Well done, Ghwyr.” Heffer shook his head as he spat a spittle with blood from his mouth. “You got me good, right here.” He smiled, showing his two missing teeth.“W-what… just h-happened?” Ghwyr looked around and saw the surprised faces of the entire class.Everyone was wide-eyed and mostly slack-jawed after hearing Heffer’s announcements.“Yes, you heard that right!” He turned to the rest of the class. “This adventurer has just saved you sorry asses. To those interested, we shall convene here tomorrow at 8 in the morning!” He announced.The rest of the class clamored after hearing the news, while Ghwyr sat there against the wall. His body was hurting and unmoving. His muscles were screaming in pain, burning with every little movement that he attempted. He stared at the entire class and listened. Maybe if recovered some
Half A Hero 51
Ghwyr was already up before the first strode of sunshine crept on his window. Actually, he was sleepless that entire night. He tossed and turned the entire night just to get a little bit of sleep, but he was too excited to get some rest. His thoughts were all about today, one of his big days. He could now finally learn a proper sword fighting technique.He wondered what the first lesson would would look like and what kind of teachings would the stern Heffer One-eye teach them. Would Heffer be as strict and unforgiving like how they met him, or would he be the wise and uncannily patient teacher? There was only one way to find out.He jumped out of his bed, washed himself and geared himself. After wearing his armor, he went down to the bar and ordered a good set of heavy breakfast. He asked for the morning breakfast set, which was very unlikely of him. But then again, sword training could be very tiring, so he needed to bank up.Mama Berta was grinning at him as she delivered the food t
Half A Hero 52
Sweat trickled down his forehead as Ghwyr tried pulling out his blade from the edge of the room. He tried it a couple of times before and he slumped back to the ground, unfulfilled and frustrated. He sat on the floor heaving while staring at the ornated pummel of his hilt.Veins were popping out of his arms as he continued to do it once more. He felt a cold air running down his nape as his vision slowly faltered. He had to shake his head a couple times just to get out of it. His ears were ringing terribly but he pushed through it, regardless of how fruitless it was becoming.He wanted to give up and call it quits, but he couldn’t. Out of fear and respect for the veteran swordsman, he was willing to push it until he gets it. Besides, it wasn’t only him that was suffering the same fate. The attending class who arrived a few minutes after Heffer started, were also slumped on the floor and tired.“Is this what you are, adventurers?” Heffer blasted them an insulting question. “Were you tau
Half A Hero 53
Ghwyr had to calm himself after hearing such horrifying noise. He wasn’t sure it was, but it sounded like something inside him tore asunder. His heartbeat raced faster than ever before, and he felt a burning feeling spreading all over him. He glanced at Heffer who was looking at them intently, crossing his arms and looking bored at what they were doing. “Your body has an empty second source which mages call, the Inborn Reserve. Once that is activated it becomes known as the Second Source.” Heffer explained as the class carried on with the exercise. “Naturally, the Inborn Reserve is locked. For it to be unlocked one must undergo extreme physical stress to get it and even then, not everyone could unlock it.” He glanced at them, smirking at their exhausted looks. “Some die like flies.” Heffer said nonchalantly. “Fatigue is most likely the reason for their deaths.” He added. Most of the adventurers paused after hearing this. Their eyes widened as if they just realized they signed their
Half A Hero 54
Their numbers had dwindled from around twenty-ish to exactly nine. Most of the adventurers gave up in the middle of the first lesson, while others had to be placed into the infirmary because of the unrelenting side-effects of the awakening. The day after they had awakened their Second Reserve, Heffer immediately taught them the first moves of the grueling Imperial Sword Art, Sunspire, which was considered the fundamental movement of the Imperial Fighting Style. It involved a lot of leaping and lunging, not to mention a lot of acrobatic movements and quick spells that include a large mana usage. “Left swing! Leaping sidestep to the right!” Heffer shouted at them as the class moved in chorus to his command. “Riposte and stab!” He clapped his hands and gestured that they do it again. Gwhyr had done these series of movements for almost a week now. He had the entire first set of the Sunspire memorized, and yet the one-eyed swordsman was still relentless in letting them do it over and ov
Half A Hero 55
Another week has passed, and their numbers dwindled even further. After Heffer showed them the dance and the steps that came along with it, five more adventurers dropped out from the program to continue adventuring. The nine students were now down to four.As Ghwyr recalled, he noted one of them arguing with Heffer that the lessons he had taught them up until that point were enough to help them survive attackers and bandits. They didn’t need to know more of it since; they were burning their coins already and they were getting broker by the day they stalled from adventuring.Heffer didn’t argue with them. In fact, he didn’t say a word. He simply allowed them to take their leave and wished them luck with their adventure. However, before they left, the swordsman made them promised something.“Don’t ever show your face in this class again, nor teach this skill to anyone, or else I will kill you.” Heffer threatened. “I have eyes and ears everywhere. If I see you brag about being taught by
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- Half A Hero
63
Ghwyr was dropped off at the western point of the dungeon which was a barren hill very far from the main city. The sun was already setting at the horizon the moment they arrived there. During their long and windy trip, they had passed about five towns that he wasn’t familiar. He didn’t even think that there were towns and villages located in such a remote place as this.He looked around the barren land and saw nothing but dead trees and dry boulders lying on the ground untouched by man. From his position, he could see a small visage of the sea below. The peaceful blue sea was a great contrast to the brown and lifeless color of the hill he was standing on.He shook his head and tried to get that thought out of his head. There were some more pressing matters he needed to attend to; for one, it was already dusk, and he needed to make camp immediately.He looked at the sun setting at the horizon and without skipping a beat, he began to make camp. He made a simple tent out of dried branch
- Half A Hero
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The following morning was just like any other morning in the capital. The cold breeze and the chirping birds were all the ordinary things that he usually heard every morning. But nothing was ordinary that day. Today was the day of their test, the Dungeon Crawl. Ghwyr woke up early and readied his kit, checking everything was there and making sure that he didn’t leave a thing. One missing item could be a matter of life and death. After checking the bag for the third time, he donned his armor, and checked his weapons. When everything was set and done, he went down to the bar and ordered a hearty breakfast before waving his goodbye to Mama Berta. “Will yah be gone for a while?” The barkeeper asked. “It’s a dungeon crawl, Mama Berta and my first time at it. I am not certain how many days that would take us to finish.” He answered while taking a deep breath. “Why’re yah sounding like yah gon’ die?” The barkeeper sighed and shook her head. “Tip from me… make sure yah finish the crawl be
- Half A Hero
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Chills ran down his spine as he thought about what just happened. The sweet old lady, Baba Sheby could be one powerful opponent if you get to her bad side. Now he realized why so many adventurers called her witch.He shook his head and went around the market, trying to kill the last few hours and get himself entertained to relax himself from all the studying he did. Good thing the market wasn’t short of mouth-watering stalls for him to splurge a little bit of his budget on.There were stalls for grilled meats, of all kinds, exotic cuisines from all over the kingdom lined up on one street. He wondered around for a few minutes, checking up the stalls just to know which ones to buy from. After a couple of rounds, he set his eyes on the fried squid stall and the weird yet queued upon green noodles from the Zimazo region.He first went to the fried squid section and ate the butterflied and battered fried squid. It was skewered in a thin wooden stick to easily grip the food while he walked
- Half A Hero
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“Hmmm… pretty interesting my dear halfling.” The old woman smiled and sipped her tea.Ghwyr nodded enthusiastically at her. “Oh, I still have more…” He said as he picked the stories he could share in his head.He still has a lot of things he could’ve told her, like those other adventurers that were treating him differently and often shunning him. However, he didn’t want the old woman to worry more than she already was.He noticed how worried she was as he continued to speak about his adventures. He told her how he got his new armor and weapons, and how he learned a new style in combat which he was proud the most. Baba Sheby nodded and smiled at his stories, but her eyes had a hint of gloom in them. He ended his story with the current situation he was at, the Dungeon Crawl.“You fearless little one.” She shook her head. “I have always worried about you ever since you told me what you wanted to be. Not everyone could achieve their dreams in your profession, and I have always prayed to m
- Half A Hero
59
The petite old woman waddled towards her small round table at the middle of the room, near her cozy and colorful fireplace. The place hasn’t changed for years. There were still those dried herbs and flowers the old woman hung by the counter of her kitchen which he could visibly see from the living room. The furniture all over her house were still the same red lumber, elegantly carved into beautiful set pieces of chairs and tables with mystical animals in the base of each furniture.Baba Sheby pointed him to his seat. Ghwyr thanked the old lady and sat on the chair with a carved unicorn on the base. It was his favorite seat and even without him telling that to her, Baba Sheby seemed to know that it was.While the old woman was preparing her tea, Ghwyr peeped at the counter at the corner of the room. Behind the beautiful furniture carved with a serpents and ivy vines wrapping on its edges was a simple, yet huge shelf filled with items from potions, dried herbs, spices, peculiar trinkets
- Half A Hero
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Ghwyr sighed as the one-eyed swordsman stormed out of the room. He turned to the other adventurers who looked stunned at what just happened. Their eyes were staring at the empty doorway before going back to the board with all the diagrams drawn there.“W-what now?” The adventurer with an upturned nose asked.Ghwyr stood up while shaking his head, astounded at their cluelessness to the situation. “We better get studying.” He said while glancing at them. “Or else we die inside that damned dungeon.” He walked out and left the other adventurers mumbling and throwing insults at him like little children having a fit.He wasn’t sure how did they became adventurers. They may not be seasoned like the higher ranks, but they should at least know a thing or two about being tact and insightful towards certain situations. Now, they were left with no one to teach them or explain things from the mini book. Ghwyr highly doubted that Heffer would even return tomorrow, knowing the moody nature of their
- Half A Hero
57
After a quick breakfast of toasted bread, goat butter, and soft cheese, Ghwyr went up the stairs and into his room where he donned his armor and sling his blade on his side, ready for the day ahead! He locked his room and headed for the Guild Hall with just half an hour to spare.He arrived at the bustling guildhall with adventurers lining up early in the administration desks just before they opened. In their hands were parchments from the bounties they pulled out of the board.Curious, Ghwyr went to the board and was shocked to see the board riddled with a lot of requests. Parchments upon parchments were nailed into the board and he saw a lot of adventurers claiming some of the bounty request, but the board wasn’t thinning.He looked at some of the most recent request and found out that most of them were party related. He turned to the adventurers on the queue and realized most of them were not at a party. He checked at the party bounty requests and noticed the hefty rewards in store
- Half A Hero
56
Three days had passed, and everyone already had a good hang of the ability they were taught. The armor-searing spell wasn’t as taxing as they thought it would be (until you have to incorporate it with some other spells and moving attacks). Although using it in actual combat might be a little tricky than they thought it might.Not all armors were created equal, and some had high-level enchantments more than others. In fact, not all opponents were built equally! Heffer was very keen on letting them understand about it before they could brag about the silly spells he taught them. After mastering the armor-searing spell, a few days back, Ghwyr and the remaining students of the terror swordsman were taught a few more spells in their arsenal. The firebolt spell for their additional attack, the stoneskin spell for additional defense, and lastly, the enhancement spell for well… enhancing their attributes like their speed, agility, and strength while on battle.It didn’t take them long to rea
- Half A Hero
55
Another week has passed, and their numbers dwindled even further. After Heffer showed them the dance and the steps that came along with it, five more adventurers dropped out from the program to continue adventuring. The nine students were now down to four.As Ghwyr recalled, he noted one of them arguing with Heffer that the lessons he had taught them up until that point were enough to help them survive attackers and bandits. They didn’t need to know more of it since; they were burning their coins already and they were getting broker by the day they stalled from adventuring.Heffer didn’t argue with them. In fact, he didn’t say a word. He simply allowed them to take their leave and wished them luck with their adventure. However, before they left, the swordsman made them promised something.“Don’t ever show your face in this class again, nor teach this skill to anyone, or else I will kill you.” Heffer threatened. “I have eyes and ears everywhere. If I see you brag about being taught by
