"Miss! Miss Arden, please stay with us!" cries echoed throughout the small shack, sobs, and pleas yet none were heard by anyone but themselves.
On the bloodied bed lay a beautiful woman with long raven hair. Her hazel-orange eyes, a sign of her relation to the Arden dukedom, were now closed. Her pale skin and cold complexion made it clear that the noblewoman was no longer alive.
At the bedside knelt a man with light-brown hair and black eyes. His status as a commoner was evident, yet the woman deeply loved him. She had even given birth to their child, whom he named Ren. Tragically, in the act of giving birth, his beloved wife passed away. Although passing during childbirth was all too common, there was something about her death that felt… too unnatural, as if it had been planned.
In the man's arms was a blood-drenched newborn, fresh from the womb. Yet, the child did not cry; his eyes were closed, and his tiny body curled into his father's embrace. This was Ren Arden, the future Moonlight Swordsmaster.
Her name was Sylvia Arden, a low-ranking member of the Arden dukedom. She was a mage despite her family being that of swordsmen and this was due to the fact She was born with a high sensitivity to Lunar magic. And was thus incapable of using sword techniques due to the physical strain and instead was trained to be a mage. She didn't have many friends growing up due to not having any similarities to her relatives and even in school she wasn't liked due to the ruthless nature of the Arden dukedom.
She was looked down on by all of her family members for being physically weak and looked down upon by her classmates and even teachers for being a part of said family. All of this leads to immense grief and self-loathing. Everyone hated her. Everyone but one, her knight, Jasper.
He was a tall and brawny man, but his face was always soft. He grew up with Sylvia and always defended her when the time came, he was her knight and she was his lady.
Eventually, the two fell in love. But this was the thing that pushed the Arden dukedom over the tipping point. Due to the fact that Sylvia was to be married off to some no-name barony, They used the relationship between noblewoman and commoner as an act of treason and so she was banished alongside her lover, Jasper.
The years flew by, Sylvia and Jasper both found a small village and spent their time making friends, working in the fields, and helping out the citizens, and yet… Their 'perfect' life was utterly destroyed. Jasper knew clearly that Sylvia had been poisoned, the green veins on her neck were evidence enough.
Jasper grabbed his old greatsword and armor and got ready to siege the Arden dukedom singlehandedly, but he stopped. This isn't what Sylvia would wanted, knowing this, Jasper calmed down and sat down on his chair.
Jasper held his head as he sobbed violently, but his cries were only heard by one other, his son, Ren Arden.
Not long after the passing of his wife, Jasper had 'committed suicide' and Ren was nowhere to be found.
…
…
5 years later.
5 year old ren Arden sat in an open expanse, looking at the sky, it had been 5 years since he had reincarnated into this medieval-esque world and ever since he watched his father get assassinated through his infant eyes, he was kidnapped by the very people that killed his parents and forced to train as a slave every day.
Laps upon laps, pushups upon pushups, sit ups upon sit ups.
Ren was no stranger to training, it had been his hobby in his previous life after all.
However, what Ren really excelled in, was the blacksmithing he and the other slaves were forced to train in once a week.
Because of his experience in his first life in the metalwork field of his mechanical engineering career, he had naturally dabbled in blacksmithing here and there in his spare time.
And because of this and his enthusiasm in training despite his young age, he was allowed to become a butler in the main house of Arden.
Ren was obviously aware of his relationship with the family, after all, he was a bastard son and his mother wasn't even a swordsman in the family of primarily swordsmen.
At birth, his affinity for magic couldn't be measured since he was born in the middle of nowhere, but he could tell his affinity was high as he could literally see the flow of mana throughout the air, and unlike everyone around him, his body was full of it.
After a year of working as a butler, he accidentally caught the attention of the fourth son of the main family of the Arden dukedom, Dylan Arden.
Unfortunately, due to Dylan's command, Ren was forced to become a slave again.
After a while, Dylan challenged Ren to a duel and this is when Ren awakened his 'Eye of Stars'.
His unique trait allowed him to copy any movements he'd seen once, but it would have to be right infront of him, he couldn't copy anything from a manual, this ability was engraved into his right eye.
And for the left eye, it allowed Ren to use his lunar magic without incantations or even magic circles, thus allowing him to also use weapon techniques as the strain on his body was lessened significantly.
And from that day on, Ren's treatment only got worse.
After beating Dylan, his training difficulty increased tenfold.
Over the next 6 years, Ren's growth rate had increased so much that even the hardest of training couldn't even make him sweat.
He had fully mastered the Arden swordsmanship technique within a 2 year time frame, which he was then made to focus solely on blacksmithing.
And then by the time he was 11, he had created the strongest sword for him, but to anyone else it was a basic sword since anyone wielding a sword wouldn't be able to use mana.
It was a beautiful odachi, the hilt was golden and black, and the crossguard was a golden star.
The blade was a slick silver, but when activated with Ren's lunar mana, it glowed a beautiful gold.
Ren had used the material commonly used in mage's staves and wands, a metal that could absorb mana extremely well and could even be strengthened using mana.
And then, with this weapon and after there was nothing more for him to learn, he was sent off to war with the other warslaves.
However, even when all of his allies died, Ren's golden eyes burned with excitement still.
His sword sliced and diced through crowds, and those too far for his sword to cut, were left hole ridden by his 'Sylvia lunar magic : shower of stars.' It was an application of the lunar magic developed by his late mother, Sylvia Arden.
Ren had never actually met his mother, but he watched people replicate her techniques and even got his hands on one of her manuals, which he completely mastered and even created his own application of each technique. Like the 'shower of stars' was just an upgraded version of his mothers 'shooting star' which shot one bolt of lunar magic in the shape of a star at her enemies, except Ren's evolved version created hundreds or even thousands of these 'shooting stars.'
And thus, the rumours of a 'Magic Swordsman.' Spread throughout the world at an unbelievable speed, reaching the other side of Uptonia within the span of 3 weeks.
Ren was now 15, his height a staggering 192cm, he wore a long cloak with knights armour beneath, his hair was long and light brown in colour, but his most notable feature were his golden hazel eyes with the strange pattern of a white star within.
He traversed the rainy battlefields with a stoic expression, slaughtering the soldiers of the Glacier kingdom left right and centre.
There was no need for rest, just a need to kill.
He didn't know why, he didn't want to kill, but his body wouldn't stop.
…
His reputation quickly grew to the ears of the 1st prince of the Kingdom, Julius Beauchamp.
And so, for the first time in 6 years, Ren Arden stopped killing, he kneeled down infront of four people.
In the forefront, a middle aged man with short blonde hair and royal blue eyes, and next to him was a young boy, no older than Ren, with similar golden blonde hair and royal blue eyes that looked at ren with nonchalance but deep within was a dash of mischief that hinted towards a deep friendship.
Behind the two, a tall and slender woman with long blonde hair and green eyes looked down at the kneeling boy while holding a small child with the similar blonde hair.
Ren looked up at them, his dirty appearance a stark contrast to the elegant appearance of the family infront of him.
"I hear you can use both sword-techniques and mana, am I correct?" The older man spoke, he was the king, Julius Beauchamp.
"That is correct, your highness." Ren spoke with a respectful tone, his eyes looked up with tiredness evident within.
"Hmm, those eyes? Could you perhaps be a mátian?" Julius spoke, his aura clearly befitting a king.
"I… I don't know what that is, your highness." Ren spoke, his tone apologetic and his eyes remained the same tired eyes.
"Haa, a Mátian is a person that has awakened their Máti, which is a unique trait that is used from their eyes, for example, Dylan Arden, the Chrono Hunter, who's Máti allows him to perceive the world slower than anyone, allowing him to dodge any attack thrown at him no matter what. However, Dylan's Máti, along with every other Máti is only displayed in one eye, and you have your unique pattern in both…"Julius answered Ren's confusion, making Ren's tired eyes suddenly widen, the name of his long relative from his childhood rejuvenating him from his robot-like state.
"Dylan Arden?" Ren growled, unconsciously unleashing his immense bloodlust.
The kings right pupil suddenly expanded into that of a white hexagon, then with a wave of his hand he created a large barrier around him and his family.
But Ren quickly retracted his bloodlust and apologised profusely with his head in the floor, "I- I apologise your highness!"
Hearing this, Julius' pupil returned to its regular state, the translucent blue barrier faded away as he sighed.
"I apologise your highness! Dylan Arden put me through terror when I was a child, please forgive me!" Ren pleaded, his face still buried in the ground.
"Raise your head, boy." Julius spoke with a sigh, it had been a while since he'd felt such bloodlust.
"I have a request." Julius said, his voice commanding.
"Anything, your highness." Ren spoke with a slightly flustered face, his foolish outburst nearly cost him his life.
"I'd like you to accompany my son, Rauri, to the royal academy. The payment will be bountiful." Julius asked, turning his head to the younger man who waved at Ren.
"I… Yes, your highness, but the payment isn't necessary I have no need for money." Ren wanted to decline, he didn't really want to go back to school, he didn't want to be looked at with disgusted eyes, but he also didn't want to refuse the king and he had also thought of an idea that could boost his battle prowess even higher and he also didn't really need money.
"Great! You can rest in the guest room for tonight, and leave tomorrow." Julius spoke, his serious attitude that plastered his face was now replaced with one of joy.
…
Ren woke up early the next day, had a shower and then put on his new attire.
It was a tight fitting navy blue suit with a white shirt beneath that was equipped with a gold and navy tie.
Ren looked at himself in the mirror, this was the first time he'd seen himself in the mirror since he was 9 years old, he had to admit he was pretty handsome considering he was half commoner.
He pulled at his collar, it was way too tight on his throat and it was difficult to breathe, he had long brown hair and beautiful golden eyes that had the pattern of a star engraved into both of his irises.
Making his way down to meet with Rauri, he kept thinking to himself, 'Why was I chosen to accompany this young master, what makes me so special.' He had his run in with a few young masters before and they always ended with the young master either dead or with a broken nose.
However, when he approached Rauri, the young man looked over and grinned mischievously, outstretching his hand to shake hands with Ren.
Ren reciprocated the gesture, and Rauri whispered to him, "Let's be friends, Ren Arden." Rauri spoke with a slight giggle.
Ren's eyes widened and he looked at Rauri with curiosity, "How did you…" he spoke, his voice no louder than whisper.
"Don't worry about it, I noticed your expression when Dylan's name was mentioned, and I was there watching when you pummelled him." Rauri continued to giggle looking at Ren's expression.
"Ah, and you're probably wondering why you were the one to accompany me and not someone trusted by the kingdom, right?" Rauri titled his head and looked up at his tall companion.
Ren was once again shocked, 'What the hell…' but he quickly composed himself and answered, "Well… yeah." Ren spoke with an awkward cough.
"Ah, well that's because I refused to attend the academy if you didn't accompany me." Rauri broke out into laughter and held onto Ren's shoulder for balance.
"W-what? Why me?" Ren blushed and looked Rauri with wide eyes.
"Well, I saw your potential back in that duel with Dylan, and now that your reputation has increased, father thought it was reasonable to have you accompany me." Rauri wiped a tear of laughter from his eye as he grinned at Ren.
"Shall we go?"