The quiet of the room settled around me as I closed my eyes, letting my thoughts drift. But rest was elusive; questions gnawed at my mind, circling back to that moment in the dungeon when I'd felt the power surge through me.
It wasn't just strength...it had been like a blazing force that tore free, overpowering everything else in the heat of the moment.
Could it really have been mine? I asked myself as I stared at my hand, imagining the strange magic circle that had appeared back then.
Before I could slip further into my thoughts, the sound of footsteps approached. The door creaked open, and I opened my eyes to see a very tall figure step into the room.
The guild master, a seasoned adventurer with silver hair and a stern expression, closed the door quietly behind her. Her gaze met mine, a glint of curiosity in her sharp eyes, tempered by the weight of her years of experience. She's someone I know very well, after all she was one of the people who were the ones that mentored me despite being branded as talentless.
Sherry Vernibal, a legendary magic swordswoman. She's a retired A-ranked adventurer now that she has become a guild master a few years ago. She's my master as she was the one that taught me the essentials.
[You're awake] (Sherry) She stated, her voice a calm rumble that cut through the silence. She pulled up a chair beside the bed, sitting with an ease that conveyed both authority and patience.
[I am, guild master] I replied, trying to sit up straighter despite the ache in my limbs.
[*Cough* Kiria said you wanted to speak with me]
She nodded, clasping her hands together.
[I did. What happened down there was… unusual. I've seen many things in my time, but the state of the dungeon floors where they found you—well, that was something else. Flames so intense they left nothing but ash. And yet, here you are, alive but you almost died....you careless BIG IDIOT!] (Sherry) I could not dodge the head punt, and it hit me square on top of my head with a loud thunk.
I could only clutch my head in pain.
[OW! What was that for?!]
[What was that for-!? You idiot! You big big idiot! DO you know how worried I was when the adventurers escaping the dungeon told me that the talentless newbie had sacrificed himself to allow them to leave?! I wanted to jump inside the dungeon to find and kick your ass out, but Kiria held me back since I might get outnumbered!] (Sherry)
A shiver ran down my spine at the memory of the fire.
[I… I don't know how to explain it, guild master. I thought I was done for--OW!!!]
She suddenly stood and closed the distance.
[You brat still had the audacity to call your mentor "guild master"!!!!Ragh!!!!!!] (Sherry) This woman! She's putting me in a chokehold using her elbows!!! I can't breathe!
[Ow ow! Fine!!!! Sherry! I get it!]
[Good!] (Sherry) Oh god! I thought I would have been done for.
She was worried of me....that's kind of unexpected. The fact that she is worried of me despite putting me on a dangerous training....is unsettling. It's ironic, but I guess everyone would worry if that kind of stuff happens to someone you know.
[Don't do that again! Think of your own safety first, the others' can go after that] (Sherry) She sighed as she sat back at her chair. I too tried to shift my seating manner, and leaned at the wall for comfort.
I wanted to ask her something, but that question is currently stuck at the back of my throat and is at the tip of my tongue. It's just a question about the sudden rise of that immense power inside me. I wanted to clarify somethin but...
[Something on your mind right now?] (Sherry)
[No-Nothing. You wanted to ask me something about what happened there, right?] I braced myself....
[Just a few recollections if you could, can you tell me about what exactly happened?] (Sherry)
.....I told her what exactly happened, everything.
==================================================================
The grandfather clock in the room echoed its ticking as time passed by. I recounted every detail I could remember from that hellish dungeon—the fear, the desperate need to survive, and the mysterious voice urging me to fight, even when I had thought all hope was lost.
Sherry listened intently, her expression shifting from curiosity to deep concentration, then to something I hadn't expected…concern.
[So you suddenly heard a voice somewhere telling you to fight despite the odds?] (Sherry) She repeated what I had recollected, just a scene of it.
[Yes-] I said, nodding slowly.
[I can't explain it. I didn't know who it was or where it came from, but it felt… powerful. It felt like something inside me was just waiting to break free]
Sherry's brow furrowed, her gaze searching my face.
[Asher, what you're describing—this power surge, the voice, the… transformation—it's not something that just happens on its own. Have you ever shown any sign of magical talent before this?] (Sherry)
[No] I admitted.
[Never. That's why it felt so strange. My whole life, I've been told I was talentless. Everyone saw it. I felt it] I looked down at my hands, clenching them into fists.
I have been a bronze-ranked adventurer since I started, and that did not changed ever since.
[But down there… I don't know if it was desperation or something else, but that voice pushed me, and I just… let go. The flames, they—]
[Almost killed you] (Sherry) She finished, her voice softening slightly.
[Do you realize the risk you took?] (Sherry)
The memory of the fire flashed in my mind. The roar of the flames, the searing heat, the wild rush of power that had nearly consumed me. I nodded, feeling the weight of her words sink in.
[I know. But in that moment, it was the only choice I had]
She shook her head, exasperated yet still slightly amused.
[You've always been reckless, Asher. But this? This is different. That magic circle you mentioned—did it have any symbols or markings you recognized?] (Sherry)
I closed my eyes, trying to summon the memory of that strange, intricate design that had appeared in my mind, almost seared onto the inside of my eyelids.
[It was… unlike anything I've ever seen. It was as if the symbols were… alive shifting and pulsing]
Her eyes narrowed. Trying to comprehend the things I described.
[Shifting symbols? That sounds almost like…It sounds like a language. An ancient one, one not typically used by adventurers or even high-ranking mages. And it's not something you just… access by accident] (Sherry) She suddenly stood from her chair and rolled the sun shade down.
However, I was too surprised with what she said.
[Are you saying that… I somehow tapped into ancient magic?] Ancient Magic....I feel giddy hearing that I could use it.
She didn't answer right away, but her gaze grew sharper, more intense.
[Magic like that doesn't just appear out of thin air. And if it's what I suspect, there might be more to you than even you realize] (Sherry)
[More to me than what I realize?]
[Yes, but that also means you'll need to be more careful. Untrained power of that magnitude can be as much a curse as it is a blessing] (Sherry) She suddenly casted a floating ball of flame that I am familiar.
A basic fire spell, FIREBALL, is what it is.
[Fire is what cooks our food, warms us on a cold winter night, or be the light that guides us in complete darkness of certain areas in the dungeon. However-] (Sherry) The fireball's intensity increased so much that I could see a haze around it and its heat reaching me.
[-Fire would burn you if you are careless, your belongings burning, it could also take someone's life....or even worse it could take yours. Does that last one sound familiar? I wonder who's the big idiot careless enough to use a dangerous spell] (Sherry) The last one was uncalled for....
However, the weight of her words left a pit of dread in my stomach. I wanted to ask what she meant by "a curse," but before I could speak, she continued.
[This power, Asher—whatever it is—it's drawn from something. And if it's lying dormant within you, then we need to know why it awakened now, of all times. I can't shake the feeling that this is more than just an accident] (Sherry)
I swallowed my spit.
[So… what should I do? I mean, I don't even know where to start] I have no idea at all.
For a moment, Sherry looked at me, her gaze softening.
[You've been through a lot, haven't you? Pushing yourself even when no one believed in you, trying to prove yourself in a world that refused to give you a chance] (Sherry) She reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder.
[Listen, Asher. There's strength in you—maybe more than anyone thought. But don't lose sight of who you are just because of this power. Understand?] (Sherry)
I nodded slowly, her words weighing heavily on me.
[I'll try. But… it's hard to ignore it. The rush I felt in the dungeon—it was like nothing else. And it scares me]
She squeezed my shoulder, a rare moment of comfort from her.
[Fear can be a good thing. It keeps you grounded. Just promise me this: don't let that power control you. Control it instead. And remember, you're not alone in this] (Sherry) She let go, her stern expression returning.
[You'll train under me again, and this time, we're not holding anything back] (Sherry)
I could only gape at her.
[W-Wait, what do you mean…?]
[See you soon after you recovered~] (Sherry)
[Wait!!!! What do you mean by training under you again!!!???]
With that, she left the room, the quiet settling around me once again. But this time, it felt different. I wasn't alone anymore, not truly. And for the first time, I felt a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, I could become more than I'd ever dreamed.
Other than that, I am nervous about what she would do to me during that training.....