"Now tell me boy…How are they alive?" said Randull with a ferocious tone.
Deadly enough to kill.
"I-I don't know by what you mean by that…" I said in full honesty. I didn't have any clue by what he meant of them "being alive"…with how full of killing intent he was giving off from that single question, my legs shook…honesty would be my saving grace right about now.
"If you're referring to the Rulers…then the only thing I could say was that I was called by them." I said in full honesty. I was to scared to lie right now.
"Called by the-…its the Hero's Gate isn't it…" he said in question.
".…*Nod* *Nod*" I could only nod…
"I see…" as I gave my answer…I could see that the information I gave him made the atmosphere a little comfortable. I could see him step back from me and he fell to the ground. He just sat there with a blank look…will I couldn't actually see what expression he was making since his face is made of yarn…but I could feel that he was thinking deep of something.
One question popped to my mind… 'He knew the Rulers?' but I couldn't say it out loud…I didn't know why.
*Sigh…..* "That must mean that…you are a new and upcoming generation…" he said while his face wasn't facing my way.
"Pardon?" I asked.
"...The New Generation of Kings…you will be the Next Ruler…"
"yeah…that's what they've been telling about…a ruler."
"I could feel it…its been so long but…Two marks of Acknowledgement…"
"!?"
"The Blind and the Intrepid…"
".…"
"Since you came here with the Phrase for a Pillar…then I will guide you to it…"
"You will!?"
"Yes…follow me."
He stood up and started walking. But instead of following the one-lane road, he walked up to the front of a soul-fused wall and strings from his yarn of a face started stretching into the walls…it was a weird thing to see but…soon after, cracks started showing up and it splits the walls apart…
*Snap*
With a snap of his fingers…the crack in the walls starts to be filled up with a blood red smoke…it formed a swirly effect and It stayed in constant motion. He created a Gate right in front of me…
"Follow me."
He went in first and I followed him in. To my surprise, just as I pushed my head in first, I was in a completely different place.
"...whoa.." I said as my whole body went through.
What greeted me on the other side was a place only a Ruler of his brand would show.
A Gigantic stone statue of a sword was right in front of me, embedded on the very floor…it was the exact same design of a sword the Resolute Ruler held on his hand…with the Insignia and everything. And on that statue was a doorway…
"This is where the challenge takes place." said Randull
"How does the Challenge go by?"
"Go in there and figure It out…this was how it was always played…even after a thousand years…" he said as the doors open. Even without his expressions showing, I could here a tad bit of sadness when he said those words.
"Ok…" I readied myself…hoping that I would complete this at a faster rate than the last challenge…I was losing time.
As soon as I step in, I was meet with silence.
The door closes and everything darkens.
It was quiet.
"...This feeling…"
The same feeling.
The same situation.
The same view…
But yet this time…I wasn't scared.
I got used to it.
Not long after, I got used it. The Dark, the eerie feeling of someone watching you from a certain corner, the intent they gave off filled with bloodlust.
"These fucking monsters never change…and my response to their taunt will always be the same…"
".…." I could hear it…the same cackling laugh.
"COME AT ME YOU BITCHES"
At one point in time at this room, it was filled with nothing but and empty space. But the moment a certain boy came by to visit, the room was instantly filled with very description of what hell should have been.
At each corner, at each side, at each space. The room was filled with the same stupid looking mongrels…these bastards won't give me a break.
Randull's Prophecy was a place I can remember clearly because of one of my favorite Characters in the novel went through this place…I could still vividly remember the rules set out in this place.
One in particular was that you can't die…but you can feel pain.
Unlike the Hero's Gate where you reset every time you die…here you just don't die in General, your wounds remain and only heal over time, the sensation of hunger and thirst never leaves you, and you are always fighting the Constant battles of your Fate Given by Randull Himself.
It was both a Gift and a Curse…Gift being your promised Fate and Curse being the Experience you must go through to pass it.
This challenge will be entirely different, not only was my weapon weak and flimsy, where I just got it from a stranger by the road (AKA Randull). I will be in constant pain.
…the only thing I am looking forward to is the way I'm gonna teach myself in using a sword…
I could feel the crazy eyes those bastards were giving me.
"I've killed you once before, I can do it a thousand more!"
""""""SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!""""""""
And so it began.
The bastards instantly jumped at me like I was prey…
Without holding back, I instantly used most of my Mana in both coating the sword and and myself.
"Hn!!"
Mana: 4.0
Strength: 65 (+7.5)
Luck: 0.8
Agility: 75 (+10)
Stamina: 70 (+10)
Intelligence: 50
I needed to end this faster than the last challenge, I decided that the choice to save up against these monsters would only prolong my time here…and I still had another challenge I needed to go through.
One by one, they came flying at me.
As the first one came in, I instantly swung my sword.
*Swish~~!*
The moment he was at my reach, I didn't give mercy and just cut it in half.
"...Whoa…"
The moment the flesh came cutting through my sword, a since of delight filled me.
This was the easiest kill I felt most enjoyed by.
It was like cutting a stick of butter with an actually sword….it was overkill.
One thing to consider was their speed, although it was fast, the fact that I boosted myself with Mana made in manageable to handle.
One by one, monsters came rushing at me more furious than ever as they see their comrade fall like rain and I just continuously hacked my way through.
They came from every direction. It was impossible to leave this place unscathed but it couldn't be blamed since this was my first time using a sword. But I could say it was better at handling more enemies because of its maneuverability, the spear on the other hand would be more useful on smaller enemies thank to its precision and lengthy reach.
And since I was constantly practicing with the right hand at my thrust practices, I didn't feel a tad bit sore when I used the same hand to hold the sword, although the form was different, I learned to be better as time passes and found ways to efficiently kill monsters coming my way.
It wasn't professionally learned, so from the looks of it from afar, it would be the view of a 17 year old kid just swinging his sword at every possible direction…but gets better over time.
Four hours later….I noticed the numbers wouldn't go down. But the numbers of them attacking me carelessly went by only about five coming at me all at once…it was getting manageable.
They were starting to fear me…
And as time passes by, my sword was starting to dull and crack…I could feel it breaking any moment now. The hours I fought against these things made it harder as time goes by, they were learning…and one thing they learned to do was to break the one thing I was advantageous of, they learned to aim for my sword, even at the cost of their pitiful lives.
*Crack~~!?*
30 Minutes later…
"Ha!"
As the 1045th monsters came in charging, his claws tried to reach out to me, aiming for my head. in response to this, I thrusted my sword. But as it clashed against the palm, I saw half the blade fly by the side of my head and unto the floor.
".…"
Nearly a quarter of its length was left…
My Mana was completely depleted. Scars were all over my body and despite the automatic regenerative aspects of this domain, it wasn't fast enough to completely heal myself.
I was tired. And I was about to suffer a bombardment of attacks from these monsters.
The monster that broke my sword came throwing themselves at me, grabbing me by the head and smashing me against the door.
*BOOM!*
".…" but still holding on the the broken blade, I went and killed the monster who was holding my head by slicing his neck off, I was completely left with what I called a make-shift dagger….a shitty dagger.
I had to completely use my fist and the dagger as my main weapon now…
I grabbed the nearest enemy by the head and plunge my dagger right through. And while other monsters were coming at me from all sorts of directions, 1 percent of my mana replenished and I instantly used it to coat my hand.
Just by the swing of my hand, I could cut the head off of a monster.
I charged back at them and continued to fight on…always aiming for the critical parts like their neck and heart for an instant kill. They were starting to fear me more and less were coming at me, so I went and chase them back.
***THIRD-PERSON POV
As the massacre continues, the boy continues to fight on and on until he would finish every last one those monsters…but this wasn't the point of the test….it wasn't about killing everything…it was about yearning for a sword.
He lost the sword and decided to think of it as a dagger. He grows as time passes by and later the monster were no longer a threat…if this went on…he might never leave…he lost the objective.
So Randull the Divine went and changed something, a job he was always willing to do. his job wasn't to torture the people he invited here…no, it was his job to let them grow and pass through their Fate…
With a snap of his fingers…the monsters changed…they no longer knew the feeling of fear…their eyes turned Black and all at one they came charging at the boy who lost his way.
Endless monsters came charging at the Boy…it was a stampede of unending flesh and blood.
Helpless and alone, he was caught in the stampede. He tried to hold on to the Dagger as much as he could but too many monster were bombarding at every second and at every inch of his body.
His hand was torn off along with the dagger. The other hand was being mauled just like the rest of his body…yet he wasn't dying…
But yet in his mind…he thought he was going to die…the pain was too much…there was nothing he could do…and the thought came…he wanted salvation…he wanted to survive…above anything else, he wanted to fight back…
Anything
Just anything will do.
And a bright light came to fruition.
On his left hand emerge a sword. A one of a kind sword.
He felt it's handle.
Slowly and surely, he went to grip it as hard as he could, and by the simple swing of it…all the surrounding monsters were blown away.
".…"as the smoke clears from his attack…what revealed before the explosion was a boy whose body was nearly mauled out…and yet he was standing…his eyes brought out a certain light Randull has only seen four times…the same shine a Ruler would give out.
".…I see…if its him then its possible." Thought Randull
And so came his comeback.
Monsters who knew no fear versus a Boy who was finally able to learn the concept of what a sword was…
It was a battle that would last many days…an endless moment for the boy…a quick simple second for the monsters…
They came barging like a wave, he in turn came swinging with every intent to survive.
Screams could be heard…blood was dropping like rain…and the look of disdain was still in the face of the boy who massacred an uncountable hoard.
And so it went…the only thing that remained was one boy who wanted to live.
A character who yearned a sword.
And the Prophecy Randull saw before the boy made him rejoice…this boy was going to change a story that was going to be more than what it originally was….this character was going to be an anomaly.
He smiled.
With the snap of his fingers, the hoard ended and the Challenge completed.
What was left to do was the acknowledgement of a certain Ruler.