"What hell do you want?"
"Just...to talk."
"No."
"Oh come on! You know that this conversation has long been overdue."
"Fuck off."
"Real mature dude."
"I don't need you!"
"You almost died! Again!"
"I was careless."
"Damn right you were! When will you realize that you need help?"
"When I actually need help."
"Like before?"
"That was different!"
What about with Beatrice?"
"Fuck you."
"You didn't answer my-"
I'm done with this conversation, bye."
"Calling this a conversation is pushing it."
"Yeah I'm done."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Morey regained consciousness, he found himself staring at the ceiling, wondering what just happened. Thinking back, he remembered his battle against the horde. He remembered how he almost died in the battle back then. He really needs to do better.
Before he could continue to ponder on his lack of combat prowess, the man of the hour bursted into the room with his usual demeanor.
"Morey! How are you feeling!" William yelled as he strolled into the room.
The boy in question shot up from the bed, then immediately regretted it when a stabbing pain hit him in his stomach and shoulder.
"Easy now! There are some pretty nasty wounds you got inflicted with!" William said.
"What the hell happened?" Morey groaned.
"Well you got into quite a scuffle with a couple of undead monsters! It was quite the scene!" William piped.
"Wait," Morey said as his mind fully woke up, "You were watching the whole time!" he realized when his mind was fully awake, "Not to mention you knew what was going to happen when you left me in the reforging station! Why didn't you help out?" He accused me.
William gave a sheepish smile, "Well, I was watching, and yes I did know, but you know why I didn't help."
"Why is that?" Morey asked, still peeved at him for leaving him out to the wolves, or in that case, zombies.
"You really don't know?" William responded, "Think about how I saved you multiple times before we even reached the coliseum. How did you feel?"
Morey pondered on William's words. He did save him multiple times before they even got here, but how did that make him feel? Easy, he felt terrible.
----------------------------------------
"C'mon lil Timmy! Put your back into it!" Morey shouted as he stood over the little boy that was currently faced down on the floor.
"I-I'm trying!" The Rat complained, "But you're asking for too much!"
"It's only 100 push ups, even your frail body can handle that if you quit being such a pussy!" Morey growled, "You're even doing them by sets!"
"But I've never done anything like this before!" Lil Timmy complained already doing his 6th set.
"Well you better get used to it," Morey warned, "You're the one who wanted this. And I sure as hell ain't gonna hold your hand for this."
"Y-Yeah! I don't want help anyways!" The Rat shot back, "I got in this mess on. My. Own!" he emphasized each word as he did each push up. It would have been impressive if his arms didn't give up immediately after and cause his face to be planted on the floor again.
"Right," Morey said unsurely.
----------------------------------------
"I get it," Morey finally said. It was obvious that William was never intending for him to die, and if he saved him instead of testing him of course Morey would feel awful.
Yet despite all the wounds, he never felt better now after the battle he won.
"Thanks..." Morey muttered.
"Don't mention it," William chuckled. He then got up and began to do some light stretching, "Now you best be prepared for today."
"Why," Morey asked as he tried to prop himself up again, the injuries he had were less painful now.
"Because now, your true training begins!" William boomed enthusiastically.
"Wait then what was all that before!" Morey exclaimed.
"Why, that was for me to figure out your attitude towards fights!" William explained.
"Attitude towards fights?" Morey questioned, "What does that mean? And what did I get?"
"Well, the attitude is basically how you handle a life or death battle. Some play strategically, cowardly, graceful, stubborn, etcetera, the list goes on."
"So what was my attitude?" Morey asked.
"Yours?" William said as he walked out of the room, "Vicious, savage," He paused, and right as he left he finished, "and fearful."
Morey would later understand what he meant.
----First Month.----
The training consisted of basic swordplay, along with a new tool that William insisted Morey on adapting to. The shield.
Morey was reluctant at first.
"No way! that thing looks clunky as hell!" he complained, "It won't work well with me!"
"Morey! The shield will be the reason whether you live or die! Not to mention the saber is one handed! You need something else on your left!" William lectured, "The saber can protect you decently, but you will need more when battling bigger beasts. And I'm not just talking about monsters."
Morey still looked unconvinced, that was until their next spar, where right after they began William pulled out a crossbow, and a few seconds later Morey was left on the ground clutching his thigh, which had an arrow sticking out of it.
"What the hell?! That wasn't fair!" Morey barked as he tried to pry the arrow off.
"What?" William teased, "You don't think enemies will use projectiles to take you down?"
"Fine you made your point!"
----Third Month.----
For the past two months Morey had worked to strengthen his arms to swing his sword around more proficiently, along with trying to multitask with the shield.
William explained the concept of shield bashing, something surprising very few people can do well. It's not just about whacking someone with the shield, but timing a good hit to rattle an opponent. Not much strength is required if the timing is right. If the timing was off, however, it can be punished harshly. Something Morey learned many times the hard way.
No one visited them, beside one person, Maria. Who would sometimes come with her daughter, who Morey later learned her name to be Jewel. She was a girl who was born during a dragon attack, along with a disaster what William called the Cinderfall, and survived the entire ordeal. Maria claimed that Shiny was born right after the dragon was killed and the cinders fell, leaving behind a precious gem. One both parents had no idea what it did. But their baby seemed to like it so they named their baby after the unknown jewelry.
"It's such a nice story," Morey said, "But you know what would've made it more enjoyable?"
"What?" Maria asked, both William and her were facing out one of the windows from the second floor of the Colosseum, which was a library with a fireplace settled in the middle, when reminiscing the birth of their child.
"If this damn brat gets off me!" Morey screamed. Jewel was currently riding on Morey's shoulders and pulling his hair having the time of her life.
"Go! Go! Horsey!" Jewel laughed, now more comfortable than ever with the short saber wielding menace, much to his misery.
This wouldn't have happened if he didn't decide to stick his neck out for the girl that night when he heard crying outside his room. He was in the bathroom when he heard the little brat crying about being lost. She only cried louder when he got out to try and get her to shut up. He could have left her, but no! His mother drilled into his head that children should still be treated with the utmost care, and unfortunately he couldn't exactly shake the image of the women giving off her "not mad, just disappointed" face to him.
So he ended up having to drag the little girl, all the while having to soften up his tone to get her to finally stop blubbering, to the bathroom and once they reached their destination he was going to leave her there, but Jewel decided to have him stay and wait there until she came out, by constantly calling his name while in the fucking toilet. She then had him walk her back to her room, both of her parents seemingly unaware that their little baby had a night stroll with a guy who sleeps with a sword. Unfortunately, it seemed that all the fear she had of Morey was gone, and instead treated him like a playground set.
Well, at least she doesn't bother him during training, and he doesn't have to deal with her every day, that would have really made things a pain.
"Why?" Maria said, amused, "She likes you now."
"Yeah! Well I...:" Morey stopped and looked at the little girl staring at him expectantly from atop his head, "Don't mind...:"
Jewel stopped tugging his hair and beamed. She then opted for a hug, covering Morey's face with her hands.
"Jewel… what did I say about blinding me?" Morey asked tiredly.
"Umm...:" she drawled, "It's…"
"It's...dan-" He helped.
"Dangerous!" Jewel laughed as she hugged his head tighter.
"Jewel!" Morey yelped.
"Now now!" William laughed as he plucked his daughter off his apprentice, "Jewel, let poor Morey take a break! He has a lot of work to do tomorrow! Remember?"
"Oh yeah!" Jewel said as she turned to the novice swordsman, "I'm sorry Morey. Can we play again tomorrow before Mommy and I leave?"
Morey only responded with a grunt, Jewel laughed, and he was pretty sure she was assuming it was yes. He was called here to discuss something with William and Maria, but all he learned was how their spawn was created, and how hard their kid can pull hair.
There was something bugging him, though. He recalled that William was a seeker, and although he hasn't learned if Maria is one too, highly unlikely but still food for thought, he wondered what the status of the child was considered. She was born here, but one of her parents is confirmed to be not from this world and has immortality, along with other perks. That still begs another question.
How long has William been here?
For him to meet someone, fall in love, and start a goddamn family means that he's been here for years. Does he even know how to get out?
Does he even want to?
"Alright Jewel, why don't you take a walk with Daddy?" Maria suggested, "Who knows, you guys might even find an ocelot!"
"Yes! We should head out right now! It's a good time since most of them are active around the evening! Come on Jewel!" William beckoned, leading Jewel out the door.
"Oh! Yes!" Their daughter laughed before adding, "But don't forget to bring fish! You always forget!"
"Ah… I'm sorry, I'm still a forgetful man, please help me remember!" William joked, holding Jewel in his hands as they walked out the door.
"It's ok! I'll help!" was the last thing Morey heard coming from Jewel as the door closed behind them.
"So," Maria began in her usual interrogative tone, "How's your training coming along?"
"I thought this was going to be a conversation between all three of us," Morey snapped.
"It will be, but I feel that a conversation between us is due," Maria countered, "What? Is there a problem?"
"No," Morey said flatly, he really didn't, at least not now. But the lady wouldn't believe him. If it wasn't for the way she constantly kept her eye on him, and the way she talked to him he would've believed that her intentions were more casual. Constantly implying if there was ever any sign of him wanting to off William. Morey would obviously laugh, then tell her that he couldn't even if he wanted to. Of course in response to that Maria thought that he actually wanted to which only worsened things for a while. After a brief argument he made it clear that he had no reason, and intention, to kill off the only guy willing to teach him to survive.
"Ok, I'll just get to the point," Maria finally said, "Look, you know how seekers get incredibly powerful right?"
William did go over that concept with Morey. It was soul fragments, essence of life from monsters they slaughtered. It was one of the stranger, but more useful, things they dropped. "Yeah William gave me a bit of a crash course on how to get stronger, why?"
"Ok, now consider this," Maria continued, sitting down on one of the chairs around the fireplace, Morey followed suit, sitting across from her. "Knowing you aren't the only seeker in Yumesueno, then what's stopping those that were here for much longer to go on a rampage, if they supposedly had immortality? Why follow rules in general?"
"Um… I'm gonna guess that for a clear conscious is the incorrect answer," Morey answered.
"You're half right you cynical brat," Maria snorted causing a vein to pop from Morey's forehead. "There are people who genuinely don't want to hurt people, instead they opt to protect them. But there are those who would care less, but why would they not attempt anything if they have the infinite potential to grow in strength?"
"They're outnumbered?" Morey snarked, still annoyed at her previous jab at him.
"Once again, you're half right," Maria remarked, ignoring his tone, "But even then, what's to stop a group of seekers to team up, hide in the dangerous forests where deaths means less to them, and farm as many soul fragments as they want?"
That was a good point, and if Maria pointed it out, that meant that there were seekers that attempted this, but what went wrong? If seekers had the infinite potential to grow incredibly powerful, what's stopping them from doing it? Death becomes obsolete since they can easily revive. Unless…
"There's a catch," Morey thought out loud.
"That's awfully vague," Maria chuckled, "You know what the catch is?"
"William never told me about it, so I don't know," Morey admitted, "All I know is that after a death I wake up in another random area. Beyond that, I don't know about any other penalty put on me. Or I haven't noticed."
"Well that much is obvious," Maria remarked, her expression becoming colder when she looked at Morey dead in the eyes, "You didn't have any soul fragments."
"So?" Morey scoffed, until realization hit him hard like a sack of bricks, "Wait…."
"Figuring it out now?" Maria said, her expression unchanging, "Not only do you lose supplies, equipment, and items, but you also lose all your soul fragments."
"WHAT?" Morey barked, "That's bullshit!"
"Call it what you like, but it's the truth," Maria responded, shrugging, "Not only would you lose everything you worked for, but to add insult to injury you'll be put back to square one in the middle of a hostile land, having to repeat the cycles of death until you get lucky enough to land near people willing to help or a fort with supplies. Of course it is possible to attempt to survive on your own with the basics, but then you'll just end up isolated in a fort for a long time until you can gain enough strength to go back out to explore and find your way back home."
"Damn…" Morey groaned, "Just when I thought this ability would be useful."
"It's a double edge sword, just like many things in life," Maria explained, "Take it as a form of balance. But there is one more thing I want you to keep in mind."
"What is it?" Morey asked unsurely. He already felt tense, and the room was only feeling colder the more she talked.
"Items, supplies, and equipment are all valuable, but only if someone can use it," Maria said leaning forward, "Anyone can obtain soul fragments, no matter the amount, as long as someone dropped some and it's not in someone's body…" She let the words sink in for a moment before asking, "you understand what I'm implying?"
It was obvious now why she was so hellbent on figuring out if he wanted to kill William, but still…
"Like I said before, I can't kill him even if I, for some reason, wanted to," Morey replied.
Maria leaned back to her chair and wagged her finger at him, "Ah, ah. You do understand that even with the most powerful armor, there is still a man of flesh and blood inside right?"
"But-"
"Which means," She continued, ignoring Morey's protests, "That even with an incredibly large sum of soul fragments, one is not invincible. Harder to kill? Yes. But impossible? Ha! Don't make me laugh. So many seekers with god complexes have learned their place the hard way."
Morey pondered on the things she just said, it made more sense that he wanted to admit, but then that begged the question:
"How long has William survived?" He asked.
Maria smirked, "In order to get to that level of strength? Over 4 years, and counting."
"Wait," Morey wondered, "Isn't Jewel like 6? What happened?"
Maria broke eye contact for a moment but composed herself and said, "Maybe someday you'll know, but for now, I want you to know how he managed to survive for so long."
"What do you mean?" Morey asked, "Isn't it because he's strong and-"
"Strong? Definitely. But besides that, I think we can both agree he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed," She rebuked, "He's a kind man and a wonderful husband who has provided so much for me and our daughter. He's protected the village for so long and has asked little in return. The village is fortunate to have him. And I'm much more fortunate to have him as my partner."
If the room was cold before, it was freezing now. The air around Morey felt thin, and he could have sworn he saw his own breath. He felt like something was squeezing at his chest, making it difficult to breath. The room felt like it was tilting.
Maria's expression darkened, her eyes never leaving Morey's as she continued, "Which is why I make it my duty to protect him from the monsters that managed to wiggle their way into his armor. Ask me boy," she spat, "How has he managed to survive so long despite always taking disciples as suspicious as you?"
Morey couldn't even breathe properly, much less talk, but he mustered the will to form a word, "H-how…"
"Because," She said, "When they try anything on my husband," she drawled, as the pressure slowly started to rise up, "They deal with me," she threatened, "And unlike my beloved, I'm not as kind. I will do what I promised you the first day we met if you even think about taking advantage of William's kindness in a cruel way, and believe me boy, you won't be the first, and you certainly won't be the last."
The sheer pressure that Maria emitted was enough for Morey to clutch onto the chair's soft material. He was panting, was the world spinning? Who the hell is she?
"One of the perks of us natives is the fact that we don't need soul fragments to use any type of weapon or equipment," she continued her hair beginning to rise, "And we are born with an affinity with elements, you want to know what mine is?"
Before Morey could respond another blast of pressure hit him harder than before, and all his instincts were telling him to run. He wanted to run, he wanted to die, but he was paralyzed with fear, and he couldn't move, he could barely breathe. All he could do was stare at her as death leaned over.
"It's Phase," she whispered, "It connects with the spirit over to the physical world, it's what our emotions are made of. Love, happiness, anger… fear. You thought about underestimating natives haven't you? That would have been your greatest mistake. Our secrets are our greatest weapon."
Morey struggled against the pressure, but he attempted to form a coherent sentence, "Th..then wh...y te-"
"Why tell you?" She asked for him, "Because, for some reason William has taken a liking to you," she said as the pressure finally let up, causing Morey to slump into his chair gasping for air. She continued, "And I want to at the very least give you a fair warning, consider this an act of kindness, since I mostly use fear pressure as a way to finish someone off."
"Th-thanks a bunch…" Morey snarked as he tried to compose himself.
"You're very welcome," Maria simply responded.
"I… I don't plan on killing him," Morey said, finally able to breath properly again, " I have nothing to gain in killing him."
"You see that's what worries me," Maria sighed, "The way you look at killing him like it was some sort of negotiation."
Before Morey could respond William bursted through the door, talking about how difficult it was to put Jewel to sleep, and the way Maria's demeanor changed, from cold blooded assassin to jovial mother and wife made Morey all the more unsettled. But he couldn't let that deter him.
The conversation with William went the way Morey was expecting, more pointer on his training, and some updates on what was going on in the village from Maria. Nothing as important as the warning the woman gave him.
The next day, after Morey begrudgingly played with Jewel again, she and her mother took off to the village. Maria did not mention their conversation at all after it happened.
Morey had a hard time sleeping that night.
Two nights later, when he was able to finally get some good night sleep, he shot up from his bed with a terrible realization when he asked William how they got to the Colosseum.
"They got here in underground tunnels! There are fucking underground tunnels!"
----Sixth month.----
Morey was getting proficient with the shield, finally able to keep up with William for a while. But unfortunately since there was little strength and stamina that he can work with against him, he could never last, hell he can barely scratch him.
Either way, in terms of stamina, William usually just puts him in the arena and cover the area with monsters, before it was simply zombies, now however, he puts other creatures into the mix, any monsters he can get his hands on, whether it be floating eyeballs, giant rats, larger rat dogs, or even lions. Morey fought them all.
He finally upgraded to an iron saber. Just as jagged and vicious as before.
----Eighth month.----
"Hey William?" Morey asked as he sat near an anvil and was repairing his weapon, "What have you done to people that tried to screw you over?"
"Hmmm? I don't know what you mean?" William responded, reading a book on a bench near Morey.
"Well, I mean, has anyone tried to hurt you?" the boy questioned as he pulled out another ingot of iron.
"Not that I know of. The worst my students have done is often leave without saying goodbye," William sighed, "I'd suggest it's pretty rude, but then again, maybe they're incredibly eager to to explore the new world!"
Morey sighed and went back to focusing on his saber, his fingers more delicate with the material used, many months of constant fighting had worn down his blade, but it only allowed for him to learn how to repair and craft better. It's as William said, practice will make perfect. Now he can use an anvil, which does better repairs than the reforging station without the fear of his sword changing quality.
Morey really wanted to question William on him and his wife's past, especially after her little warning she gave him, but he felt it wasn't really worth the effort. William didn't even want to talk about his past students all that much, and once Morey did asked William what he was doing protecting the village.
He simply answered, "It's my home."
Morey wanted to tear his hair off and scream, "Why?" but he never did. William never really grilled him on his past, so it was only fair that Morey didn't ponder too long on his.
But it was still strange, was William weak compared to other seekers? If that was true that only made the world all the more terrifying, but Morey highly doubted that. William told him once that dragons were one of the strongest creatures in Yumesueno, Maria even agreed, saying that few can actually slay a dragon. So dubbing WIlliam the Dragonseeker was something that only cemented his abnormal strength. With that kind of strength he could easily work for more influential and powerful people. Why work in a village that seems to hate him? Does he really not care about his status at all?
But of course, that was all just questions and speculation, but before Morey can continue to think about that, he noticed that his saber was still glowing, even after finishing up the repairs.
"Um... William."
----Tenth month.----
Morey sat in the library, his nose deep in a book, all the while a pile of books surrounded him. All he finished reading.
They were instructed on enchantments, maps around the area, unfinished beastiaries, among other books that were more on fictional stories. Morey didn't let that deter him and he kept reading. It was his only day off.
He learned more about the kingdom, even if it was a little bit. Apparently the capital is well hidden within the jungle that very few people can visit, but apparently it was a city of pure gold, earning the name El Dorado. Most villages are scattered around the kingdom but are still considered a part of it, with a network of underground tunnels made for a safe passageway for merchants and travelers. If people were more extravagant, then the use of Uvaraptors, giant birds that are usually hostile unless tamed, were often used to fly over the thick forest.
There were three other kingdoms to think about. Cloud Nine was the one that caught Morey's attention the most. William told him that most of the information there was in the library was outdated, making Morey wonder how he knew.
William explained that many seekers often spread info around, since there are so many that tend to travel around it's not uncommon for some to stop by, even some coming by to trade if they had supplies or items not common around the area..
Despite that, Morey still read on and learned that the kingdom was once an incredibly prosperous and stable place. The king was considered to be a wise and noble man, but an increase in disappearances around the kingdom got people to become paranoid. No one suspected the king to be behind it until a staff member of the castle reported to the public that the bodies were located in the castle's dungeon. In response the king ordered his soldiers and his three Robed Knights to slaughter the people with knowledge of his terrible deed.
Before the boy could have read more, William snatched the book up from behind him.
"What are you reading?" He asked.
"Just a bit of history you know?" Morey answered nervously.
William shut the book, "Morey I told you that the information in those books were outdated, there's no point in purposely misinforming yourself, it will only hurt you in the long run," he lectured sternly.
"I know," Morey said, annoyed, "But still there's always truth hidden in the lie, you know? The history doesn't seem all that farfetched but still, there were things that are sketchy."
"Doesn't matter," William said, "I'll buy some more up to date books on the kingdoms. You know what this book is?"
Morey looked at him strangely and asked, "What?"
William opened up the book to the very last page to reveal a poster of a man riding a horse, holding a pike with head attached to it, "It's propaganda."
"Oh shit."
"'Oh shit' indeed."
"But why do you still have that propaganda book?" Morey asked.
"It's more of a reminder of how people never change, regardless of the world," William explained glumly, "I've seen wars in my time here, but none could compare to that one."
"You were a part of the Cloud Rebellion?" Morey gasped.
"No, I was an observer, my friend was a part of it." William clarified.
"What happened?"
William shrugged, "War, you heard about wars no Morey? It's all the same, the methods of killing are different, but the reasoning behind those weapons are always the same," he simply said, implying he didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Oh…" Morey said. It raised a lot of questions, but they were questions that he didn't really have time to think about. He just wanted to get back home, so he left it at that.
Still makes him wonder.
----Ending of the year.----
The feast was nice.
Morey, along with William's family all sat around a table set in one of the larger rooms in the colosseum. In a way it was an anniversary for the year Morey spent there.
The air was warm and the fragrance of freshly cooked meat filled the room along with the chattering of the family. Jewel was making a mess with her food but still managed to have both of her parents smiling, Maria simply ate all the while cleaning up her daughter's food, Morey was quiet as usual but William often now made him have to be a part of the conversation.
Morey didn't mind as much anymore. Things were good, he had learned a lot this year, he was sure he was almost ready to take on the world and find his way back home. Secrets may be left uncovered, but none of that was his concern. That was William's life and Morey had no reason to press forward, he was a teacher, nothing more nothing less. His life will be free of any chains, no title of monster, no fear of betrayal from old enemies, and no one to tell him what to do. Here he had a clean record and a somewhat clear conscience.
Despite nine months ago Maria threatening his life, she seemed to have warmed up to the boy, even when alone in a room without William or Jewel she wasn't as invasive or cold as before.
"Congrats on the year of training, Morey," the woman in question said, smiling at him.
"Thanks," Morey nodded, he's been saying that more often. Not that they don't deserve it. They were quite the interesting group. Morey knew both of them had skeletons in their closets, but so did he. There was no point in thinking about that. He still had his goal in mind.
"Haha! I tell you Maria he's a natural!" William boomed, "Or maybe I'm too amazing of a trainer!"
They laughed and joked throughout the dinner. Morey knew he was going to have to leave. He was kinda gonna miss them.
But still, he should enjoy the moment. It's been such a long time since he had this warmth. Almost made him want to stop beating people up. Almost.
----One year and one week.----
Morey was never good with a bow, and it showed. He can pull back the string at its full tension, but his accuracy was terrible. Still, there was no one reliable to learn from, William was not a very good teacher for that. But still, he practiced his target which was just a scarecrow planted in the center of the arena.. He's gotta stay focused. It was a good thing it was quite or else-
"William!" Maria shouted in the hallways running into the arena, causing Morey to jump and shoot the arrow completely off. The arrow bounced from the wall and towards one of the weapon racks, knocking it down.
"What the hell!?" Morey barked, "I thought you guys were gonna show up next week."
Maria ignored his outburst and instead frantically asked, "Where William?!"
"Maria?" William shouted as he walked from one of the locker rooms, sporting a fresh set of red armor, "What's the matter? And where's Jewel?"
"William, there's been a situation!" Maria explained, "Jewel's in one of the locker rooms taking a nap, she's safe, but the villagers..."
William's eyes widened, "What happened?"
"Wait, what the hell is going on?" Morey shouted from behind Maria.
"A disaster," Maria explained, "An eruption occurred near the village, I went through the tunnels to call you. We still have some time before they come to the village."
"That's not so bad," William laughed only to get cut off when Maria glared at him.
"It gets worse," she said, "The eruption awoke a stage 4 dragon," William tensed up as Maria continued, "And it's on it's way to the village as well."