The following day would be my first day at battle camp. I was excited, yet nervous, like I'm experiencing the same 'first-day-of-school' syndrome most kids would feel when they think about their first ever day at school. This is kind of similar, though swap the school with a day-camp for battle training and you'd get what I feel. The thought of ruthless training for hours on end made me shiver, both in fear and excitement. I literally can't wait to be there.
Maybe I'm being a little too overexcited about all this—after all, I'm not actually going on a camp. I'll just be gone for a few hours, and afterwards I'll still be able to stay at the Heartwood house. It's a win-win situation, right? Well, that may be true for me, but for Rona, she was not very happy about this.
"I want to go as well!" She sulked, eyeing her father with the best 'angry eyes' she could muster, though she looked cuter than her actual intended look. James was scratching his head, sweat even rolling down his forehead. He looked clueless.
Those two have been on a fight since half an hour ago, with Rona begging her father to let her join me in this battle camp, while the latter trying his hardest to convince his daughter that she isn't ready for such things without hurting her feelings. How sweet, really. But I am getting a tad bit annoyed about it, and apparently so did Arianna.
"Rona, my dear, I've already told you that this camp isn't suit for you. Why won't you listen?!" James's voice shook as he half-cried out his last sentence. Rona was about to retaliate further, but was cut off when Arianna finally decided to butt in.
"Sweetie, your father is right. You don't belong in a place where children run around and hit each other with swords." Arianna was slumped on the dining table, still unable to properly manoeuvre around without faltering slightly. Ever since yesterday, she hasn't been able to do most housework that requires too much effort, from simple sweeping to cooking a meal. All of that is left for James to do. Rona and I tried to help out as best as we can as well.
Rona pouted and crossed her arms, snapping her head around so its backside faced us in a moment's of anger. Her blonde hair swished along with the movement of her head, the red bowtie atop bounced unbeknownst to her fury. She knew the battle was lost when her mother decided to join in: she has never won an argument against her mother, according to what James whispered to me behind Rona's back. I giggled a little too audibly, to which Rona heard, and in response, she stomped her feet and proceeded to march her way out of the dining room.
James sighed heavily, not knowing what to do with his problematic daughter. Personally, I would advise him to get her some therapy in order to sort out her anger issues, but I'm not one to talk right now. I have other problems to deal with. Mainly, the battle camp.
"Well then, you should get ready, Ernie. You'll be leaving to the camp soon. I'll escort you there for the first few days while you remember the path; it's not very far from here. Now, what to do with Rona..." James muttered as he got up and slowly made his way out of the dining room as well, intending to make it up with his daughter again. Only myself and Arianna are left in here.
"Good luck in camp, Ernie," Arianna reassured. "It's unfortunate I can't come see you off on your first day. With my pendant now gone, I can't go outside as frequently as I used to..." She sighed as well, not unlike how her husband did so earlier. I waved her off with a remark as polite as I can make it sound.
"It's fine, Mrs. Heartwood. Your pendant being stolen isn't your fault. I promise you I'll try my hardest to find it and take it back, if that helps. I just want to see you back on your feet like before, that's all."
"That's very kind of you, Ernie, but I'm afraid that is a task too big for even you to handle. James has already asked the guards for help, but there's only so much a squad of officers can do when chasing down an elusive crew of thieves. All I can do is wait and see. Hopefully it turns up soon, or else James will have to carry the burden of my housework on top of his usual job."
"Don't worry about the housework—Rona and I are helping out as well. We've got everything under the bag."
Arianna smiled warmly and relaxed herself. "If that is so, then I don't have anything to worry about. Though, your help might be limited now due to you starting battle camp and Rona will soon have to return to her own school after this break ends. Thank you for helping out anyway, Ernie. And I'll trust you to find my pendant if you ever come across it. But don't jump into danger just for the sake of me, alright? I don't want to see you ending up like James..."
Ah, I thought. She must be referring to Mr. Heartwood's injury. Yeah, I think I'll stray away from that if possible... Perhaps the gloom on my face was visible without me knowing, or Arianna sensed my sympathy for her husband, but she got up slowly and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Try your best at battle camp, alright, dear? And make some friends while you're there as well... it might be the next step to making your heart whole again," she whispered. I felt a shiver down my spine as she let go of her hand and walked out of the dining room, leaving me all alone. "Have a nice trip," she said, before disappearing behind the archway.
***
It was a pleasant day: clear crystal blue sky, warm sunlight illuminating the early morning streets... a perfect climate for my first day. James is leading me to the battle camp now, through the lively streets of the town, with Rona and I in tow. Despite the girl's anger strike this morning, she looks as if it had never happened. I would assume the father and daughter duo has made up already.
"I've never went to this part of town before," she said, looking around curiously.
"Oh, you have," said James. "Several times, actually. But you never went further in than this. Now then, we're almost there. Just around the block, if I'm not wrong."
Indeed, the battle camp is quite close to where we live. Only a few blocks away in a neighboring district. "What? Already? That's closer than I thought it would be..." I panicked slightly, adjusting my knapsack and tidying my outfit to look as good as I can for first impressions. Now, I'm not the type to worry about such things, but seeing how I'll be spending a lot of time in this camp, it would be better for me to look decent so as to not suggest the wrong impressions.
"We're here," James suddenly stopped after turning the corner and walking a few more steps. Indeed, to my right, stood a welcoming double-story building looking slightly similar to how a town hall would look. It was three times wider than it was long, with several windows dotted uniformly on the brick walls. It had a tiled, almost burnt-looking slanted roof; a few chimneys also jutted out here and there.
The whole camp's compound is encircled by a fence, almost twice as tall as me. Three flagpoles stood tall and fluttering on high poles near the entrance. A small court separated the gate from the main building, with a few patches of grass containing flowers and trees to line the otherwise boring path. The entrance was wide open, welcoming anyone and everyone who is interested in joining. To the right of the opening was a plain wall where marble letters were stuck on, reading:
ALLESTRIS OFFICIAL TRAINING
CAMP FOR ADVENTURERS
"'Allestris?' Is that the name of this place?" I asked after noticing the rather unfamiliar name. Then I also realized something else: the letters were written in symbols of another language. Yet, I could read and understand it like it was English. This is most likely the translation stone at work. How I love translation runes.
James glanced at me as if implying I was asking the obvious here, or rather, I was asking something I should already know. "No one has ever told you before?" He raised an eyebrow, even looking amused that I didn't know what this 'Allestris' is. I shrank myself in humiliation, somehow guilty for a crime I did not commit.
Luckily, Rona came to my rescue. "Oh, I don't think I ever told you this, Ernie. Allestris is the name of this town, that's all. It's nestled inside Eygron-Halaris—the third-largest state out of the nine in Phrycantis—just behind the two largest states, Mejuris and Kalactis. Geographically, it's landlocked near the Bayona Sea, but it's only landlocked because it's blocked off by Vudrodris—also known as the main trading state where the largest port city in the country resides—"
"Alright, that's quite enough information, Rona," James chuckled in amusement. "I'm sure Ernie will learn it all sooner or later even without you going on all day. Now then, shall we?" He gestured his hand to the entrance of the training camp like a waiter welcoming their customers into a restaurant. I took up his little joke and waltzed in pretentiously, not before adding a "Why yes, we shall."
Upon entering the building, we were greeted by several stares from kids of differing ages—from little five-year-olds to the intimidating young adults. The welcoming room also acted as the common room for the people here, as shown by the mish-mash of homey furniture coupled with a rather out-of-place reception table in the back of the room. We approached the table, dodging the children running around and ignoring the stares as best as we can.
Behind the table sat a young woman, who looks more like a student here rather than a receptionist. She looked up and noticed us, shot a warm smile and asked, "Welcome to the Allestris Training Camp for Adventurers. How may I help you?"
James took the liberty to reply. "Yes, I want to register someone here for camp. This boy here" —he put his hand on my shoulder— "wants to become an adventurer. No other place than here should be fit for his training, eh?"
"Yes, yes, you're quite right. For your information, we train both children and adults alike who are interested in pursuing the career of an adventurer. This is the only place in Allestris where you can find quality training for new adventurers. We're all the more happier to have him here. Care for a pamphlet?" She held out a thin pamphlet with pictures of students training here and more information regarding the facts of the camp.
"Thank you, but I can say for myself that I have enough information about this place. I was a trainee here, after all."
The girl's eyes widened hearing James's claim. "I see, I see. Then, shall we jump straight to the registration process? Only a fair bit of paperwork involved, that's all. An interview with Mr. Neswitt afterwards and a small event later in the day will finish the registration. Please follow me to the director's office."
"Ah, I think only myself will be needed in the office. The paperwork's for a guardian to fill, yes? Then that means Ernie and my daughter shouldn't be there. Besides, he's getting a personal interview later, so there won't be much need for the director to see him so early on, is there?"
"Understandable. Then, how about we show Mr. Neswitt and your daughter around the camp while you fill out the paperwork?" James nodded, to which the girl walked away from the reception table and came back with another person in tow.
It was a boy who looked like my age, albeit half a head taller than me. He had ruffled-up golden-brown hair, an averagely-round face, fair skin and big, brown eyes. He wore casual clothes for this world—a maroon tunic half-covered by a brown cloak, black pants ending below the knee and apparently sandals with socks on. He emits the exact aura of a cheery and optimistic person, as evident by the large smile on his face. An easy-to-approach person, and most likely a little jesty.
"Hello!" He greeted happily. "I'm supposed to be a tour guide, right?"
"Yes," the receptionist lifted her hand, palm on top, and showed the way to me. "This boy here, and the little girl as well. Show them around the place, and while you're at it, don't cause any more trouble than you've already done and drag them into this, will you?"
"Sure, sure." The boy approached me and held out his hand, intending for a handshake. "Mason Bruggs, happy to meet you. You can call me Mason." I took his hand and shook it, at the same time introducing myself.
"Likewise. I'm Ernie Neswitt. Uh, hope we can be friends." Well, that came off less enthusiastic than I thought. I'm not terrible with meeting new people—in fact, it would be more advantageous to have more connections in this unknown place—it's just that I haven't actually met anyone of my age for years now. Due to my 'reputation' as an inferior human being, I couldn't make any friends in school, and that led to a small bit of shunning. Everyone had their cliques—but me? I was just a loner.
Sure, I wasn't actually bullied or hated by anyone; it was just that other students would rather not be associated with me due to all the smack-talk I receive from people who know of my relation with my sister. Even though nothing was threatening me, school was still agonizingly boring without any close friends. The teachers can't do anything about it either—there was no problem to begin with, so they can't just force other people to befriend me. Everyone has their own right to choose.
In this new place, however, nobody (as of yet) knows about my inferiority complex. Nobody knows what I've gone through. For that, I want to have a nice time at this camp, which is similar to a school. I want to experience time of my youth that I couldn't enjoy back then. I want to change the fact that I have no friends.
"Indeed. How about you?" He turned to Rona, also lifting a hand for a shake. Rona beamed and announced herself with both hands clutched tightly at Mason's outstretched hand, shaking it like it was a salt shaker. "My name is Rona Heartwood! I want to train here as well when I get older!"
Mason giggled. "That's a nice dream to have, but why can't you train now? We have kids smaller than you here training, you know?"
To that, James grunted. "She's just not responsible enough to be fighting as of yet. This ball of energy will wreck the whole place before a mock battle finishes."
"Oh, that won't be a problem, mister. We have special protection spells guarding the camp's buildings. She won't be able to destroy anything even if she tries," Mason explained, patting Rona's head.
"I still stand by my point," James defended himself. "Now then, shall we get going? The paperwork isn't going to do themselves, are they?"
"Yes, yes. Mason, lest you want to get another lecture from Instructor Roose again, I suggest you do your job as a tour guide and nothing else. Stop by at the director's office for Mr. Neswitt's interview once you're finished, got me?" The receptionist girl instructed.
"Aye-aye!" Mason saluted her jokingly, to which the girl brushed off by turning on her heels and left the room. James followed behind her, not before waving Rona and I goodbye. "Now then," he said, "where to first?"
"I want to see where you guys fight!" Rona suggested. Mason shrugged and said, "Fine by me. Come—to the training grounds!" He guided us out of the common area through the large sliding door just beside the reception table, which led to the back of the building and into a large, rectangular grass field.
Many trainees were doing their morning exercises there—some were stretching, running around the perimeter of the field, doing a bit of swordplay in pairs, and even shooting arrows at targets several yards away near the far right of the field. We stood under a roofed porch which had several sitting areas, with murals painted on the walls on the back of the building.
With a single glance, there could easily be around thirty people stretching and running around the field, not even counting the ones inside the common area and those who were in other places of the camp grounds. Safe to say, I will be having a great time here with lots of friends to be made. I was extremely excited for what's to come.
"This is it," said Mason, stretching his arms wide as if revealing a prized possession of his. "The place where we practise fighting, train our bodies and pretty much do anything practical, like performing magic. We occasionally have classes for both theory and practical means of fighting, which everyone takes together, but other than that we are free to do whatever we want most of the time."
"Wow, so much autonomy for a training camp..." I muttered.
Mason laughed, saying, "Well, the adventures we go on don't have set schedules either, so in a sense we're learning to take care of ourselves independently as a group. Besides, don't you think having this much freedom is better than sitting around in a boring class? I would take this over a normal school any day."
"Guess so... but still, this is great! I've never held a sword before until yesterday, so I must have a lot more to learn. Help me with that, will you?" I said.
Mason was surprised for some reason, but he accepted my request either way. "Sure thing. But, seriously? You've never picked up a sword before until yesterday? I can't imagine what you've been doing this whole time!"
"Well, that's the issue... I'm not exactly from here, you see..."
He raised his eyebrows. "You're not from here? Then, are you from another state? Or another country? Or even overseas?"
"Uhh... I'd say it's even farther than that. I'm from another planet." I said sheepishly. Mason's face was just full of confusion. He squinted at me for a bit, but then widened his eyes and went "Ohhhh" like he just found out about something obvious.
"So you're an other-worlder?" He asked.
"Right on the mark. I came here just a week ago."
"Just one week ago? Isn't that, like, a bit fast? Hell, it took me seven years before I decided to learn here. And you just come walking in here only a week after you left your old world! What even got you into adventuring?"
"Well, a lot of things, really, but the main reason is because of a certain someone..."
"'A certain someone?' Who might that be?"
"...My sister."
Mason tilted his head sideways. "Your sister? Is she from another world as well?"
"Obviously so. She came here four years before I did. You might have heard of her..."
"Really? Someone with your surname... Neswitt... Neswitt..." He thought long and hard, trying to find someone with the same family name as me. Then, as if all the chords has been struck, he jumped out of his limbo and stuck his index finger up. "Wait—don't tell me you're Eyvonne Neswitt's—"
I nodded gravely. "Yes, I am, unfortunately."
"'Unfortunately?' How is that unfortunate?! That adventurer is almost legendary! She rose the ranks of the top most powerful adventurers in just one year! And to think you're the brother of such a powerful fighter! You must have a lot of potential... oh. Did I say something wrong?" He stopped fanboying abruptly when he saw me.
I was hit full force by a wave of cumbersome melancholy; I frowned so badly to the point where I looked as if I was mourning the death of a close relative. My forehead wrinkled, my fists clenched tightly—so tight my fingernails almost sunk into my skin. I trembled agonizingly, like hypothermia caught my whole body and now I'm shivering in the unthawable blizzard of ice. That could've been what's happening, actually—my heart felt icy cold, though my head was hot with fumes billowing out.
The mention of my sister, and how people can just go on and on about her greatness... it's absolutely unbearable. I can't stand that. It reminded me of the nightmares I had back on Earth, those traumatizing times when I had nothing to live for except to just chase a person's glory—a person that was long gone from that world. It was humiliating. All those comparisons made between me, all those thorny remarks they just casually throw at me... I hated it.
And even now, it's here. I thought I could escape from them. Twice, in fact. Once back when my sister left for this world, and now when I left Earth and those swines behind. And now look at what I'm going through yet again—comparison after comparison after comparison after comparison—
"Stop. I don't want to hear about her. She just makes my blood boil. I loathe her—so much so I just want to rip my ears off. Don't talk about her in front of me. She made my life hell. And do you know what she did to create such a nightmare for me?" I asked with the scariest voice I could muster, but it must have instead come off as a pathetic attempt to sound intimidating. My voice was trembling along with my body. I felt so awful.
Mason didn't reply—he was still shocked by my reaction. All he did was shake his head incredibly lightly, similar to how a cornered person would do when replying to a question their attacker asked. I took that my attempt to frighten him did work—or perhaps it was just that I looked pathetic that he was scared for me. Either way, I carried on with my rant.
"It was because she was so great, that she made my life hell. Her achievements outshone mine in every way possible, she gets the praise while I get the short end of the stick. She gets complimented, while I get called a useless brat who can't begin to compare to her. She basks in all that attention while I stood neglected by my very own parents. She got everything, while I got everything else. She is the literal bane of my existence."
"...O-Oh..." Mason opened and closed his mouth, trying to find something to say, but ultimately unable to spit out anything useful. He was sad, not for himself, but for me. He pitied me, felt sorrow, tried to sympathize... at least that's what I interpreted from his expression. It's what onlookers would usually do. I got used to it. It's all just following the main routine. Soon, he'll leave me be to sulk.
"I'm sorry," Rona muttered softly. She had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ernie... I didn't know you still had problems with that..." They were streaming down her cheeks, a snaking river slithering down and falling in beads to wet the floor below.
"What...?" I snapped out of my breakdown and stared at her, dumbfounded as to why she was crying, and not me... It should've been me crying, it should've been me with tears in my eyes. Truthfully, I actually was on the brink of shedding tears, but I didn't want to look bad in front of a person I just met... Where did all that 'good first impression' energy that I had just now go? I'm already making a bad impression of myself.
"I was stupid for thinking everything was okay now... I thought mommy helped you cope with your problems, and I thought you weren't scared by those thoughts anymore... I thought... your worries were... actually gone." She sobbed in between her sentences, which increased exponentially.
"Rona, I... Don't cry! It's not your fault! I'm sorry I lied to you!" —I never lied to her, though. She just had the wrong impression. But this isn't the time to be pointing out her mistakes— "I apologize for not making myself clearer! Please understand, will you? And stop crying!"
"Idiot," she cursed under her breath.
"What?"
"Idiot!" She shouted, as her hands flew in an arc and slapped my left face; the smack loud enough for those near the porch to hear. I stumbled sideways and almost collided with one of the tables on the porch. The pain of the slap came searing hot a moment later. My eyes grew wide like an over-inflated balloon, ready to pop at any second; I lifted my hand to place it on my face where she slapped me.
"What—"
"Curse you, Ernie!" She bellowed. "Why do you act like this?! Even after my mommy helping you, you still can't let go? You even said everything is okay after she consulted you, yet here you are acting like an idiot being mad at a person you just met, all because he mentioned your sister! I seriously thought better of you, Ernie... I really, honestly had thought everything was fine as well..."
"Rona... What are you—"
"Stop. Enough. If you want to apologize, then do that to mommy. She offered you help, yet you didn't stick yourself to what she said just yesterday. I'm going to find daddy now. Goodbye." Rona immediately turned on her heels and stormed back inside the building, slamming the sliding door shut behind her. My jaw was left hanging low, almost touching the ground. Did I just witness Rona getting angry?
Reality then came back to me. I realized that Rona and myself aren't the only people here. Mason stood beside me, unable to say anything. Several people watched as the scene unfolded as well. They all looked away after I turned my head at them. The burning pain of her slap to my face still lingered vividly.
"I..." Mason tried to say something, but I cut him off.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
He didn't reply, so I went on. "I'm sorry for being angry at you, Mason. I was out of my mind. You have all the right to hate me for that."
"What?" He retracted his head, raising his eyebrows.
"I lashed out at you. I blamed you for my own problems. I didn't mean any of it, I swear, but I won't blame you either if you decide to hate me for that. I acknowledge I was wrong."
"Ernie, what are you saying?"
"Are you daft? I was implying that you're not wrong for hating me. I brought this upon myself."
"No, no. You're getting this wrong, dude."
"What do you mean?" My voice was hoarse, but water was the least of my problems at the moment.
"I don't hate you, Ernie, not one bit. In fact, I think I like you."
"What on Earth are you saying?"
He shrugged, shooting me a cheery smile at me. "I like that you don't keep your issues to yourself. Don't you see? You just shouted all your hatred for your sister at me, all of that right in front of so many people. I respect that. You weren't afraid to show your dark side. My impression of you wholeheartedly increased. And that's a good thing, by the way," he sniggered.
My mouth was left hanging again. Not once did I ever receive such a reaction after lashing out at someone. For once, they didn't hate me for what I was. I was so accustomed to people grunting and insulting me further after a breakdown that I genuinely thought there was no other reaction to it other than that. But that narrow-minded thought of mine shattered the moment Mason said it. Even though he probably didn't understand what and why exactly I'm so unstable, but he didn't hate me for that, to which I wanted to cry my eyes out ten times over even after all my tears have dried out. Never in any day would I have ever imagined such a response would bless my ears.
"Come on, we have a tour to finish. Let's go watch some mock battles at the court," said Mason.
I nodded. "Sure. And, also, thanks for that, Mason."
"Nothing of me worthy to be thanked for. Now, let's go already!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" We laughed and joked around for the rest of the tour. It felt so great to be talking to someone my age like a friend. I completely forgot about Rona's situation then and there. Mason and I went around the whole camp's complex, not before watching a short fight between two of the older trainees in a mock battle. It was refreshing to see that nobody was shunning me. They all greeted me happily and welcomed me like I was part of their family.
And all that's left for today is the interview and whatever event is happening later on. That morning, not only did I lose a large amount of trust from a person so close I could call my little sister, but I also gained a new friend. So much has already happened on my first day, and I can't begin to imagine what the rest of this day will bring. I shivered in excitement, taking a step ever so closer to the director's office, where my interview will take place. "It's time."