I feel something poking on my left cheek. I tried to open my eyes, but I feel it heavy. I felt again the poking on my cheek.
"What?! I'm sleeping! Don't disturb me!" I said angrily. If you want to anger a lazy man, go disturb their sleep.
"Do you want power?"
I open my eyes and start to focus on the source of the sound, but I don't see anything. I tried to feel my hands and rub my eyes, and yet I can't feel my hands.
I started to panic and started to look around but all I can see is dark and nothing else. I know it's useless, but I still tried to get up and as expected. I can't even feel my whole body.
"Do you want power?"
I shift again my gaze to the source but for real, I don't see anything.
"Do you want power?"
I started to bombard a question.
"Who are you and where are you? Why it's dark here. Wait what am I doing here. Ughhh" I feel a throbbing pain in my head
"Do you want power?"
What? Power?
"Answer my question first!" I started to get angry and anxious besides being panic.
"Do you want power?"
Fuck!
"Power? Why? Does it help?" I shouted. Mix emotions are starting to surround me as I can't remember anything. The only thing I know is my name.
"Yes, it will help you"
Really? When I said the word power, it started to answer my question.
"If it will help me, answer my question first. What happened? Why can't I remember anything besides my name?"
"Do you want power?"
What the heck! Back to those again? My mind is telling me that having power is good, but my gut is telling me to answer "no" because to have something, you must pay or sacrifice something as well.
But it said that power will help me. And I don't know what will happen if I say I don't. Worse I am going to be stuck here.
"Yes! I want power!" I shouted
I heard a cracking sound above and look at it. The light started to form and suddenly a burst of light showered my surroundings. I tried not to close my eyes to be aware of what is happening but it was too bright.
I heard a voice of an old man.
"That's good. You want power. I didn't waste all the remaining strength left in me. You can open your eyes now." Old man
I open my eyes and gasped when I saw the dark surrounding become full of stars and galaxies. Am I in the universe?
I shift my gaze to the old man. He's wearing a white robe, and his long hair and beard are colored white. He was holding a staff in his right hand.
"Now, I will tell you everything that happened to you. No, I will enlighten you with my power so you can remember your past life. But in one condition." The old man said in a firm voice.
My gut is correct, nothing comes for free.
"What's the condition?"
"It's simple, you will get all my power and knowledge." The old man smiling
"And the catch?" I instantly replied.
"You will shoulder the burden I can't carry anymore." the old man said in a sad tone
"Burden? What do you mean?" I said with a confused sound.
The old man sighed and suddenly a light appears beside him and floated toward me which pass through my head.
"There is no going back now, even if don't give you my power and my burden, you will be stuck here forever. I know I did something wrong to you but you're the only one who can help. Your soul is stronger than all the souls I saw from the planet called Earth."
Once he finished talking, I started to remember my past life, what happened from my birth to my unlucky death. Then the pain hit my head and my hands started to rub my temple.
I open my eyes and suddenly I saw a big world. The countless and vast green forests, the birds and animals everywhere. The majestic view of many fountains. The villages, awesome cities with their castle, the castle in the sky, the castle behind the big mountain, the castle underground, and the castle in the cave.
The awestruck me where I stand as I saw different races other than humans. Namely, beast-men, angels, demons, dragons, and other kinds of races you can only read in fantasy novels.
The vision becomes blurred with a snap of the finger of the old man. The scenery changed from majestic views of the planet to full of horror. The vast green forest is nowhere, skeletons and the spoils of war are lying everywhere. Some mountains become flatland which is full of dead races.
"That's the future 5 years from now." The old man said in a sad tone and continued
"I was supposed to stop the war and annihilation of all races and yet I failed. That's my burden that I will entrust to you."
I can't say anything. My brain is trying its best to process the many information I saw and heard. My death, the power, and the burden.
Though the sudden information, my brain still functions like it's my normal daily life. Besides being lazy and capable, my co-worker called me a genius. I'm not being humble or what, but I don't feel I am a genius.
Maybe I was above average but all the knowledge I learned throughout my life is from reading. A genius is something that can create or can make a groundbreaking discovery which I'm not capable of or that's just my thought?
I snapped back to reality when the old man started to talk.
"As I said before, you will be stuck here forever if you don't accept my power and burden. Even though the burden is heavy, you still have a chance. You can use my power and knowledge. Your personality and knowledge of your past life will stay intact once I transferred you to my planet."
"The only worry I have is your lazy personality." The old man sighed
"Me being lazy? If I were you, I'll be troubled more if I do not shoulder the burden that I will carry." I said honestly
"Hahaha. Yes, but after looking deep at you, I'm sure you don't. To live lazily and peacefully is etched deep in your soul. You cannot live peacefully if you don't have a world to live in, right?" Old man.
I was lost in words. I just sighed and surrender in the end.
"Yes, you are right. What choice do I have? It's better than getting stuck here. So, what kind of power I will get from you?" I asked the old man excitedly.
Of course, I am excited, who is not the right mind who will not get excited about having power?
"My power is all about creation but due to my death and waiting for 500 years here in vast space I lost my full power. What I have now is so small, but it will make you stronger." Old
I have a bad feeling about this.
"So small? How will it help me if it's small? Some races have a strong power out there. How can I carry your burden, you selfish old man!!" I shouted angrily.
"Your soul and will to live are strong. Everything that is born always started from a little until they are grown. But you are special since you will be transmigrated. Now I will give you my power and knowledge, oh don't worry, my knowledge is vast. My time is running out, the fragment of my soul is slowly fading."
I saw the old man slowly fading as he throws his staff up in the air. The staff showered me with a majestic and bright light. I feel something etched on my soul, but it feels relaxing and calm.
"It's time. You will learn the power I gave you once you wake up on the planet. Be careful and always remember that all races are born with emotions."
"May you live a meaningful life and stop the annihilation."
"Close your eyes and after a few seconds you will wake up in the small village nearby. Goodbye." The old man said while smiling without regret on his face
The old man faded completely, and I start to close my eyes as he instructed.
The moment my eyes opened, countless of information bombarded my brain and I started to clearly understand the power and knowledge that the old man was talking about earlier. I get up and carefully inspect my surroundings. Good, I think there's no one around. I feel hungry but I want to try my power first. Doing this will ensure my safety for the time being. According to the knowledge transferred to me. This world is rich with magic energy which is called Mana. The air itself is filled with mana. There are two different mana, one can be absorbed in nature and the other can be granted by a demon king. The latter is called dark mana. Only the demon king can grant mana, no one knows why. Even the memory of an old man who gave me power has no information regarding that matter. I don't want to know either, it's just a hassle. Going back, only 1 out of 100 persons have the capacity to learn and absorbed mana. Humans born with the capacity to learn magic have a magic core inside them.
As expected, houses are made of wood. The plaza and the mayor's house are the exceptions and only a few houses are built in stone. This village is called Yorel as it's located in the great forest of Yorel Elena and Captain Klein along with two soldiers stand on the Plaza and give her speech that the Kingdom has prepared houses for the relocation and there are also jobs waiting for them. The villagers cheers with joy as they heard the news. Elena walks towards our location and asks Castor to lead the direction to the mayor's house. The living area is clean and neat. As expected, the technology of this age is the same as Earth in the Late Modern Era. "Sir Jin, if you are exhausted, please feel free to rest as you are treated as a guest, not a guard." Elena "Thank you but I'm not tired. Honestly, can I ask you a question?" Jin "Sure, I will answer your question," Elena said while smiling "What is the name of your Kingdom?" Jin I'm curious about the name of the kingdom. I already
Morning came, and everyone departed from the village. Though we have a long march ahead since all of us use carriages and horses, we will soon be at our destination. Inside the carriage, I'm currently sitting in front of Elena. "Lady Elena, I've been meaning to ask. May I know besides being a soldier, are there any jobs I can get?" Jin "Hmm, yes. There are a lot of different guilds currently operating in the Narva Kingdom. But the most famous is Adventurers Guild and Merchant Guild." Elena "I see. May I know what adventurers guild do?" Jin "They usually hunt demons." Elena "Since job in Adventurers guild is extremely dangerous. Beginners are usually trained by the guild during their first day. Once they passed the training, they will be officially registered and will be given an ID. They can also pay an extra gold coin to get a mentor. The mentor is usually within the top 50 in the guild, so the pay is considerably high. But decision-wise, it's good since the mentor will come al
After some time, we saw the majestic view of Narva Kingdom. "That is the Narva Kingdom, the capital is called Lithe." Elena happily introduced the kingdom I think the wall surrounding the city is 50 meters high. From here you can see a sturdy gigantic wooden gate on the entrance with two towers on each side which housed many soldiers. One can say it's served as a watchtower. Apparently, there are 3 gates in the kingdom with two towers on each gate that faced three nations surrounding the Kingdom. They are called North Gate faced the Fyn Kingdom, South Gate faced on Ruel Empire and West Gate faced the Vitalis Kingdom. There is no gate that faced the Great Forest of Yorel since the road from there intersected on the road on South Gate. "Mr. Jin, I'm still amazed how you defeat that demon bear in just three seconds," Elena said happily "Lady Elena, you can just call me by my name. No need to address me in that way." Jin awkwardly said. "If that's what you wish, then Jin. With yo
Curiosity can kill a cat. Elena was always thought by her father not to put her nose too much into everyone's problems. I followed my father's teaching. I always keep a proper distance to avoid unnecessary attention that can bring danger to myself or my family. But I can't help to investigate the background of Jin. He's powerful enough to kill the demon bear in mere three seconds. Demon bears can be killed by 5 knights alone in the past but due to sudden changes and the rampaging of demons, they become powerful that it takes almost 15 knights to kill them. But Jin alone can easily kill it. The swordsmanship the way he fights is normal. All knights know that kind of move. What amazed me most is his power. Did he imbue magic on his sword to kill the demon bear? No, it's impossible but if he did, everyone including me should notice it beside his sword will shine slightly. And he didn't say any chant so it's impossible. But when I asked the magicians and Captain Klein about it, the
A noble should show very fine or admirable qualities. That very characteristic defines Earl Albert Haynes, the father of Elena. Once we arrived at the castle of Earl Haynes. Elena briefed his father about what happened from the start of our encounter until our return to Lithe City. She also mentioned that I will be her guard and study with her at Riverdale Elite Academy. Marquess Albert stares at me for God knows how long. Once they are done talking, Elena proceeds to her room to rest. And here I am, receiving a deathly glare from knights. Apparently, after Earl Albert introduced himself, he ordered me to instantly train with the Falcon Knight without questioning any details told by her daughter. The reason for the deathly glare? Imagine applying for a scholarship to a high-end university, you grind yourself to study and hoping to pass the test when suddenly, the son of a powerful individual who is also a sponsor of the said university wants his son or daughter to get the schola
They said a battle or duel between swordsman means a lot. It's because the skills they practiced are at stake. Which I agreed. On earth, I bleed and sweat to reach the top in swordsmanship. Today's match is an opportunity to show it. And when I say opportunity, there is no way I will show any slightest hesitation. Luckily, I only fell asleep for almost 2 hours. After a bit of lazing around and strategizing, I headed to the training room. The castle of Albert Haynes has its own colosseum. The audience is the majority of Knights and Soldiers. There are also those vassal families of Albert Haynes. A noble below Earl status. They are seated in the VIP room while the main family of Haynes is seated in the most elegant VIP room. A lot of commotion is currently happening on the public seat on the colosseum. They make a bet on who will win this match. Of course, all the Knights are in favor of Vice-Captain Leo while the soldier led by Chief Soldier Klein favors me. I think Chief Kl
After the referee signal to continue the fight, Leo hurriedly launches all attacks that he knows within 10 seconds. I evade and deflect some attacks using the unsharpened part of my mana-coated sword. I find it rather easy to infuse my mana on the sword. But it's hard to keep up with him. You can't blame me, he's a knight and ever since I work in the corporate world, I never tried to use my sword again. This guy is really pissed, even all the audience who bet on me was pissed. Actually, everyone is pissed. Well, whatever, as I really don't care what they think. The important is I must win this duel no matter what. All the audience started to boo and shout that the duel is boring since all I did was evade. As the booing continues, my lips crept up in a smirk. It's time to counter-attack. I somehow grasp his attack pattern and the damage it could inflict if I failed to evade or block his attack. I still need to be wary since everyone knows that a sword practitioner has his/her ow