Upon the dangerous precipice, a foreboding presence loomed. His words were a stark warning, laden with gravity.
I couldn't shake the unease that his response had ignited, yet I chose to withhold further inquiry for now. There would come a time when answers must be revealed.
"Why do you deem it so treacherous? Could we not circumvent this danger?" I ventured to ask.
"There is knowledge of a formidable horde of monstrosities prowling in those parts," came his reply.
"But how can you be certain?" I pressed.
"My senses, a gift known as Magic Sense, grant me insight," the Butler disclosed.
"Magic Sense?" The words lingered on my lips, a tantalizing skill deserving of exploration.
"Is it something you could impart to me?" I inquired eagerly.
"No, Master Hiro. The mastery of such a skill demands dedication and time. Magic Sense is akin to Aura Detection, but with magic," he elucidated.
An enigma to be unraveled, a skill worth aspiring to master.
"Akin to a sixth sense for magic, then?" I surmised.
"Exactly!" He affirmed.
I pondered his words as we rode in silence. This revelation was intriguing, and I wanted to learn more.
"How is it that you can use Magic Sense?" I asked.
"I don't have any special abilities or gifts, at least not ones that would have enhanced my skills. But with dedication and passion, it took me a couple of years to learn it. After that, it just became easier. Now I use it as a testament to my hard work and dedication."
His devotion made me respect him even more.
"Thank you for explaining it to me. I'm sorry that it took me so long to catch up."
"Don't worry, Master, Your magical abilities will take years to master, but that doesn't mean it will take you the same amount of time."
In all honesty, it ignited an unquenchable flame of motivation within me—a burning desire to catch up, to ascend the ladder of magehood, to master a versatile set of skills, and to nurture the depths of my intellect, thus securing a lofty advantage in the realms of advancement.
But amidst my aspirations, a deafening explosion rent the air, shattering the tranquility of the moment.
"Oh, no! It approaches with relentless fury," the voice of the esteemed butler, with an urgency that sliced through the very fabric of our reality. "Young Master Hiro, leap from this carriage and clasp my shoulder with unwavering resolve!"
His words carried the weight of impending doom, and I complied without hesitation, landing beside him as he assumed a combat stance, an aura of power surging forth like an untamed tempest.
"What calamity approaches our carriage?" I inquired, my voice trembling in the face of the impending threat.
The butler's response was chilling, a single word laden with the gravity of dread. "Hellhound."
The mere utterance of that name sent shivers down my spine, for it was synonymous with the peril of the highest order.
"A Tier-Fifth Beast-Rank!" The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. "Flee, young master, with all the swiftness your limbs can muster! I shall confront this fiend, a guardian of malevolence, and in doing so, secure your path to escape!"
From far away, I noticed that the creature was shaped like a dog. 4 meters for height and 5 for length... is that a canine or werewolf monster?!
"I'll hold you stay behind me, young master!." His magic energy explodes with power.
It was the first time, met such a creature, Back in my previous world; there was no creature shaped like that hellhound ever existing... And there is more. My heart... beating again... can feel it from my deep-stomach muscles... if that beast gets closer, it will be to me, my power of Mana, and will shatter like glass.
As a child of but five years, I am a novice, a learner. The odds favor this infernal beast.
The threat was imminent, and the creature could pounce at any moment, shattering my fledgling magical abilities like glass.
An imminent confrontation loomed, and panic coursed through my veins.
It could attack me, at any moment, before it is too late; The butler shouts at me, snapping back to reality, and focusing on running away! I look ahead and see something terrifying.
This fear is telling me to run away; my gut is telling me to run away, and my heart is telling me to run away.
Up ahead, hellhounds are two-headed and four-legged. It charged me... without hesitation, and even faster so, it could give me more panic!
Why am I scared? Is it because of an aethereal bond? Even, I had almost died once... Perhaps, there is an aethereal link... making me scared with instinct... and knowing my fate... before it happened or whatso.
Could our journey have a bad ending or we will lose everything in the middle fight?
During your childhood, while playing a game, did you ever notice how the enemies or monsters relied on their breath-type special attacks or their powerful mouths as weapons?
Hellhound is the proof, this aethereal bond was growing, my instincts tell me.
What's their form that the possible will use, two-headed? they can fire projectiles-type breath attacks and four-headed that it will be used for fight melee or special melee or some so.
Their powers can be overpowered.
"Master, here comes a four-headed Hellhound. Get back!" shouted the butler.
So, is that true? Then, It does not have mercy on its victims...
The Hellhound laughed at us, making an intense fight stance, then fired at the butler a dragon breath-type projectiles-style from mouths or launched at me a large flaming stone ball-type breath that collided with the ground when it hit!
The Bulter pushed me away, I could think, for a second, I grabbed a grip of the cliff of the mountain hill path.
The Bulter tried to protect me with his entire body... sacrificing himself?!
That move made the blood pour down to his back and stomach.
"Aah, you my servant... but, you like a real family to me... Master Hiro, I won't say this again, but it was too late for me now... for the young master to safe away, I can you final service to save you.." Their painful expression
Then the second I saw him... His face went grim.
I was staring at him for several minutes.
My grip on the cliff was creaky, fallen, my hand still grabbing the rocks... and holding him as we fell off.
"Ma...ster... re..member, the key.... Grow... stronger than be..fore" and as the moments passed, I could hear his last voice...
The bulter caused a massive explosion as it self-destructed, leading to me soaring through the air like a dragonfly, all thanks to his sacrifice for my safety. I am finding it difficult to keep up with his momentum and velocity due to the high speed.
"SERVANT BUTLER!"
The desperate cry echoed through the mountain's craggy embrace, a plaintive plea in the face of impending catastrophe.
And so it came to pass, the cruel twist of fate that led to my plummet from the precipitous heights. The unforgiving mountain claimed its due, and I tumbled, an insignificant speck in the grand tapestry of existence, into the abyss below.
Damn, Was this the lamentable conclusion that destiny had inscribed for us? A bitter irony that left me teetering on the precipice of despair? The bitter taste of despair lingered on my tongue, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was the fate we were destined to endure. It was a cruel twist of destiny, a narrative painted with the darkest hues of tragedy.
No, there was no humour to be found in this cruel twist of fate, only the poignant tragedy that gripped our souls with unrelenting force.
My gaze turned to the loyal servant butler, a pillar of support throughout our arduous journey. "I apologize, dear servant butler, for doubting the path we've walked together," I whispered, my voice heavy with regret. In that moment of reckoning, the weight of my words mirrored the gravity of our circumstances.
Is there a way, to harness the mystic art of float magic? I implored, my thoughts racing to the countless hours spent amidst the tomes of the library.
I have perused volumes beyond count, and in the pages of a higher-rank grimoire, it is written that such magic can suspend a person in the boundless expanse of the sky. Is there a path, however treacherous, that I may tread to grasp this ethereal power?
And... now.. there is the third one of two-head hellhound!
What's the monster that wants to do, just let me die in the end?
Crying tears, I let out; Sorry Mother and Father, that my sin against for been me failure... and all those years, I failed them.
"Is it just for, two of my fates..." I whispered to myself, closed my eyes, and accepted for the fateful ending; my sins are punishment from the heavens... or God-Emperor's judgment.
Before too late, with my soul and spirit.
Will power... go inside me and explode with my own power.
Then I knew it; my fear increased, Why I had felt that before? It can feel nothing but, my physical and spirit body burning without pain.
With my own hands, and both my legs are not burning.
"In another... form... who can... be..." It works, and everything has become a blur that I can't speak anymore.
When it happens it does not sense, is too real.
Somehow, I realized that I couldn't have felt the pain or couldn't breathe in normal mode.
"Oh, child, finally we meet, the Hero" a strange voice comes out like a wind whispers, 'That's what soul spirit call? It looks blue aethereal.
"By your spirit, yet you make contact with the soul contract, my blessing gives you great power."
"How about this gave you a second chance of life with my own blessing power, boy" and a second chance, and hope it can do.
"Now, I name you, that will for a legendary hero to restore with justice."
"My blessing gives you strength as a hero you should protect."
"Remember this Hero, you might lose, but this might not lose you."
But then, the last of a soul aethereal-like made itself known, and yelled out,
"Listen to this world's calling!"
"Following the Path,"
It sounds like a faint voice calling me out, am I dead?
At the least, it gives me hope.
The Last thing that I remember my memories, that bulter self-destruction, itself.
"Boy, Follow the voice, whose calling,"