The Path of Heroes - A Journey Around the World (English Version)

Chapter 2: Kewy Narick - Wounds That Don't Heal - Part 1

It was a clear day with a cloudless blue sky as fervent duels were taking place. Sword against sword, metal against metal. The clanging of iron filled the air with sharp sounds that made those who weren't accustomed to it uncomfortable. Although they seemed like battles to the death, it was just another day of training in the Central Capital Castle of Forthen.

When the blond-haired boy noticed, three huge flaming fireballs were coming towards him. Despite this, he headed towards them. He didn't fear them. Kewy, with his eyes shining in a lively yellow, easily dodged each one so effortlessly that some other soldiers stopped their training to witness the scene.

He advanced even further towards the conjurer. Before he knew it, a large stalactite-shaped rock flew towards him, but he also dodged it, only making a small cut on his cheek. And then, with a jump...

"Aaa! Okay, I give up! I give up!"

Before delivering the final blow, the conjurer gave up the battle. He seemed terribly sweaty and exhausted. This would be the consequence of spending most of his mana in this fight. Echis was panting when he continued:

"Man, I really can't win against you."

"It's not all that," Kewy said politely with a smile.

Echis sat on the ground, upset.

"For starters, this training doesn't make sense. Why would the commander have the pairs train against each other?"

In the elite military of Forthen, soldiers were separated into pairs: a conjurer and a swordsman. They had to do similar training and be almost always together on missions, especially those exploring beyond the barrier that prevented magical beasts from invading the region.

"Well," Kewy also sat down next to his friend. "If you stop to think about it, we're training our weak points. My goal is to get as close to the enemies as quickly as possible, and yours is to keep the enemies at a distance. It seems like a fair type of training."

"But you know that's not exactly what I mean. The commander said we would have an outside visitor today, right? Someone who is well-known worldwide, according to him. If we were supposed to warm up, why make us tired so soon?"

"Isn't this a warm-up?" Kewy asked, tilting his head slightly.

"For you, maybe. But for me, who needs to store my mana, it's very tiring, you know?"

"I understand... so making you spend all your mana at the beginning of the duels is a good strategy," Kewy said thoughtfully.

"Forget about it!" Echis exclaimed.

It was when Kewy responded with brief laughter that a cold wind came and lightly tousled his hair. Before he noticed, he saw the entrance to the training field open and a big man with a beard and long hair pass through it with a strange companion.

"Hey," whispered Echis, looking at the companion. "Do you think that person is who the commander was talking about?"

When Kewy saw her, he realized that she had a stranger appearance than anything he had ever seen before. Long black hair covered her waist, dark wings were tucked in on her back, and she also hid her face behind a white mask.

The military and people of great power in Forthen were the only ones who knew that there were other civilizations in the world. This was because Forthen was a large country on an island that few dared to approach due to the high density of magical beasts around it. The only thing that allowed civilization to exist in that place was the great magical barrier. That being said, Forthen's contact with the outside world was almost nonexistent, and very rarely was someone able to meet a foreigner.