Let's see, how should I start my story? My childhood? It's a little boring but bear with me. Things will get interesting quite quickly as with most stories.
What I can recall about my childhood days were mostly training with my grandfather in some forest with a small rustic wooden hut as our home. There is barely any recollection when I was a baby. With that said, seeing as I have no memories when I was a baby or my previous life, it's safe to say that I did not Isekai here. Hence the title of this story. Hang on, why am I even thinking about reincarnation in the first place? For some reason, the term Isekai is stuck in my head. How weird. As I was saying, normal humans don't usually remember their childhood memories much which is why I am struggling to recall right now.
My grandfather was a wise and humble man. He is strict when it comes to sword training but other than that, he is a loving and wise old granddad to me. If I were to sum him up with just one word, "Badass" is what I'll call him. You see, I once saw him beat up 10 thieves in a row when they tried to steal our firewood. All that without even touching his katana which is always at his hip. I've only seen it once and man was it beautiful. Being a kid, I secretly sneaked into his room to take a peek at it and he walloped me for it. It is a katana with a yellow blade. The hilt is covered in a light shade of yellow while the guard's design is exquisite. I once asked him what it meant and he told me that it symbolises a fish that would eventually transformed into a magnificent being. No doubt there will never come a day where I see that happening. Sigh
He explained as to why I was beaten for doing something foolish. According to him, when he unsheathes it, one must close their eyes immediately, otherwise a bright light will blind you in an instant. Any opponent will be blinded for about 5 or so seconds, leaving them exposed for him to strike. Well, closing your eyes during battle is basically exposing yourself to grandfather's attack in the first place. Either way, as I would like to keep things subtle, you're fucked. He once told me of his record where is was able to slay 20 enemies during his prime time within that timeframe. That is some ridiculous Iai-jutsu skills to pull that off. And yes indeed, he tried to beat me into having the same level as him. How does he expect a 10 year old boy to obtain such skills in the first place?
Hence began my intense sword training at the tender age of 5. Apparently, my parents were known accomplished swordsman or woman respectively. My father was known as the 'Light with a thousand slashes' while mom was the 'Beautiful Beastly Dancer'. What horrible shitty title did they received. Apparently, nicknames are passed along through gossips which is how they had gotten theirs. But of course, gossips are just gossips, good deeds are where fames arise. Their fame was what resulted them in being called up by their respective guilds to participate in the war with the Demon King. All I was told is that both of them had perished during the war. However, before their deaths, the both of them were able to turn the tide in favour of the opposing force which lead to the defeat of the Demon King. Why did the Demon King decided to wage a massive world war is still unknown to me at this point of time. And yes, this is a little foreshadowing *wink wink.
Ah, now I remember how I started the last time. The day my life took a massive turn upon discovering more about the world I reside in.
It was a typical normal day. I held my wooden sword above my head with my sweaty hands and swung it downwards. I've lost count the number of times I swung this wooden sword with my petite hands over the course of 5 years now. All I can remember is that I had swung 2000 times today if I counted right which marks the end of my evening swings. As I wiped the sweats off my forehead, a little creature poked its head out of the ground, carrying a letter in its mouth.
The creature in question is a hedgehog with a soft pink underside belly. These creatures are unique as they were chosen to deliver items or letters to its intended location. They can burrow into literally anywhere and reappear at any surface regardless of gravity or the material they resurfaced upon. Yet, no marks or holes remained after they re-burrow themselves. How does it even works is beyond my understanding. These creatures fulfil their role as postmen and I am happy for it. I reached out to grab the letter from him as rested the wooden sword on my shoulder.
"Thanks for delivering the letter, Q. Sorry about trying to hit you before," I apologised to him.
No name was given to the critter when I was first introduced to him by grandfather. So I decided to call him Q as he often makes these adorable "kew" noises. I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why I would actually tried to hit such an adorable creature in the first place. Yes, I know. I was a young and foolish lad and was punished for it by grandfather. My arse was sore on that very day from the spanking that I received.
But hey, at least I found out that these unique creatures are actually indestructible. They are literally immune to all sorts of attack and spells known to man. Sure, they do feel pain but they impenetrable to physical or magic attacks.
Q burrowed away after making a "kew" sound, once again leaving no evidence that he was ever here in the first place. I headed to the well for a quick splash before dinner. I headed in and sat opposite grandfather with a cooking pot in the middle. As always, it is either stew, soup or porridge which I can't complain when the taste is decent. I bowed my head slightly as I reached out to grab the bowl that was handed to me.
"You're 10 now, aren't you boy?" asked grandfather.
"Yes, Ojii-san," I replied to him as I took a sip of the soup. Ah, warm soup sure hits the spot when cold winds blows into the hut as night approaches.
"I see, I guess you will be leaving for the city by next year," he looked at me with stern yet warm eyes.
He told me about this before during out training. At the age of 11, should you wish to become an adventurer, you must head to the city to join a guild. You will start out as a newbie like everyone else but you will choose the path that you wish to take part in.
Why become an adventurer, you ask? That is because you will earn more than any other professions while not requiring any special skillset than let's say a merchant, weapon or armour smith, or others. Sure, it's a risky job where you can die anytime, but that is what most of the people in this world goes for.
"Any suggestions on which guild I should join?" I asked him as I took another sip.
"Hmm," he put on a thinking face as he stroke his long white beard. I do not know why but it reminded me of something I watched before where it involved martial arts and an old dude would stroke his magnificent white beard in all its glory.
"Since I taught you in using the ways of the katana, there are two guilds that mainly uses blades as their primary weapons. The first would be the Light guild which your father joined. It prioritises in using Light spells which focuses on buffing allies and more importantly, yourself. Your father was specialised in buffing speed which was how he earned his nickname. The caster will always benefit the most from their own spells, remember that. The other guild would be the Dark Guild which is the opposite of Light. They mostly focuses on de-buffing their enemies whether by using special tactics or spells," he explained after some thoughts.
Either Light or Dark, huh? Why is it like some decision to become a bad or the good guy. Darth Vader or Luke? Obviously Darth Vader, heh heh. But I guess should check out the other guilds and see what they have to offer before I officially decide.
"What about mom? Which guild did she joined, if I may ask?" I asked him curiously. Her nickname 'Beautiful Beastly Dancer' does not scream that she belonged to any guild.
"Your mother? She was in the Viking's guild," he recalled.
"Pardon my words but your mother was an exceptional brute with tremendous strength despite her slim body frame. I had always wondered who was the one who initiated the relationship. Despite your father being a powerful adventurer, even he could not match the strength of your mother. I truly hope that you do not find such a brute to be your wife, my boy," he warned me.
Do you really have to say it like that about mom?
I pondered on the thought about my father being beaten into submission by mom by kicking him in the arse. Now why would I think of something like that, oh great, now it's stuck inside my head.
"I'm surprised you did not oppose to their marriage if that was the case, Ojii-san," I chuckled.
"Haha! I certainly did at first. But I eventually saw the passion in both of their eyes and gave in. They were truly in love with one another and most of all, they loved you with all of their hearts, my boy," he said.
"When your mother was pregnant, ah, that was the happiest occasion we ever had in celebrating. Their marriage brought both guilds together which is one of the rarest events to ever occur in our history and they celebrated as though the world is about to end. That goes to show how revered your parents were," he smiled as he took a trip down memory lane.
Seeing as though grandfather was lost in his thoughts, I handed him the letter that was delivered by Q and passed it over to him. He stopped smiling and his features turned grim upon looking at the envelope.
Strange, I thought. Rarely do I see grandfather changing his expression so instantly like this. Especially since the envelope had no information aside from a fancy looking letter E.
He took the envelope, tore it and read the contents with a grim expression. My bowl was empty so I decided to refill my soup. A young boy like me is always hungry for more food. As soon as I wanted to take a sip out of my bowl, grandfather spoke.
"We will be heading out tomorrow boy as it is going to be an eventful day. Wake up early and ready yourself for tomorrow," he said with a forceful smile.
I nodded to him and we finished up our dinner. It would seemed that grandfather's mood took a swing as soon as he read that letter. I am certainly curious about the contents of it but I know when to not act foolish. I took grandfather's advice and retired early to prepare myself for the early rise tomorrow. What happens the next day is an event that I will never forget.