The first thing I had to learn was how to read, and that alone cost two months of my life. While I hated it, I was a member of the Blackwood family and that was the minimum requirement.
Then geography because I needed to understand important places in the empire. As a peasant, all I knew was Thornfield, my hometown in Baron Ashford's territory. But with time, I got to know about Emberhold, the capital of the Loth kingdom, and other important places in the Gyro empire.
According to William, the new academic session would start in six months, so I had little time to stay in Blackwood Thicket before getting shipped off to Emberfield where the academy was located.
However, the academy was not necessarily for learning. Training mages was expensive, and such expenses would cripple a lot of noble houses; only the empire could foot the bill, and this was done through academies scattered around its four subsidiary kingdoms.
These academies simply had the best cultivation materials and tools, but in exchange, mages slave away, taking missions and fighting in the front lines of the never-ending battle between humanity and beasts.
At first, I was forced to read these books, but soon, I read them willingly and got a greater understanding of this—world.
According to the books, ten thousand years ago, the church of the Four Pillars was the only religion embraced by humans, elves, and dwarves who were the original inhabitants of this continent.
That was until the arrival of the Knolls; a humanoid race with beast qualities and a very powerful resistance to magic. Then came hordes of beasts with a force so staggering that they nearly wiped out all three pioneer races on the planet.
And then they appeared—the four knights of fortune. The spear hero, shield, sword, and bow hero. These four were considered the original magic knights, and under their leadership, the Knolls and their horde were pushed back. Towering walls were built over what remained of the once glorious Gyro empire, alongside the Vael'Thirion, the elf empire, and Durgrimhold, the dwarf empire.
These three were the last empires of the three races that managed to stand the test of time and survive what many referred to as the Dark Ages.
The four legends who fought to save the world were honored. The church of the Four Pillars was abandoned and replaced by the church of the Four Heroes.
Originally, Gyro was a massive empire made up of nearly 30 subsidiary kingdoms; now, it has been reduced to four, and that was why the academic system made sense. While the empire funded academies, they used the students to do their dirty work and fight their battles for three years.
This was no different from military service.
The Gyro Empire Academy's morality was at least 50%. However, its student quality was impressive. That was how the empire had survived this long.
___ Five Months Later, Blackwood Forest ___
Standing on a tree branch, I looked down on the three Ironback boars and watched them squeal furiously.
A massive, four-legged boar with coarse, bristly fur. They were about 3 ft in height and 4 ft in width. Their entire body was covered in thick, iron-like plates, making it difficult to harm with normal weapons. And they had short but razor-sharp tusks capable of going through armor and trees alike.
The three pairs of small, fiery-red eyes that glow with aggression didn't startle me one bit.
Hunting has been my routine for the last month since Blackwood let me out of the house. I always had a team of about six guards that made the trip with me every day but waited outside the forest.
"What do you think lies in the depths of this forest?" I asked so casually, you would think the Ironback boars weren't preparing to knock down the tree.
{It's most likely a magical beast. Since the village doesn't disturb it, it doesn't disturb the villages.} Lin responded.
I frowned. From what I know, magic beasts are rarer than human mages and they are extremely intelligent beasts capable of speech and usually non-aggressive. It is said the average man has a higher chance of dying at the hands of another human than a magic beast.
I won't lie, I was curious.
Oink Oink!
The tree trembled slightly as the three Ironback boars charged forward from all directions.
{Remember to keep one you will present as your hunt in perfect condition.}
I shrugged and crouched. Before the boars could reach me, a burst of wind erupted, propelling me high into the air and a deafening banging sound followed.
Ka Ka-!
Ka Ka-!
The sound of the tree shattered the silence of the night, but that was the least of my problems; my eyes were on the boars, and their eyes were on me as they eagerly waited for my descending body.
"They think I'm the prey here…" My eyes revealed an emerald glow. "Let's educate them!"
Without hesitation, I unleashed the power of my death magic, and dark green hell flames engulfed my palm. The boars paled, and just like every other beast that witnessed the power, they tried to run, but it was too late.
It is said the moment you see death, it sees you.
Bam!
Landing palm first, the ground trembled violently while the tree boars ran in different directions, hoping to throw me off but that was pointless.
Bone thorns erupted, skewering the Ironback swine.
{All that's needed is a fire and we can all have pork.} Lin chuckled.
"That would have been nice but this magic destroys everything it touches." I frowned as the boars stopped struggling while their bodies dried up and shrank at a rapid pace.
In mere seconds, they had been reduced to empty husks, and two seconds later, they were reduced to dust.
"Five seconds to turn everything it touches to dust. This is just crazy." I muttered as my frown depended.
After seeing this multiple times, I still couldn't get used to it. These beasts never get the chance to fight back. They don't even squeal or kick; they just die with horrified expressions, and that's why I let them turn to ashes.
Sometimes I can't help but wonder what they see before they die.
{I told you to kill one the normal way. You can't keep going back empty-handed or they may start suspecting you.} Lin warned but I rolled my eyes.
"They will suspect what? That a fifteen-year-old has turned nearly 30 beasts to ashes in just a month of hunting?" I scoffed.
At best, he would just think I'm struggling with these beasts. It's not like anyone was expecting me to be exceptional since I don't even have basic combat training.
{33… it was 30 yesterday.} Lin corrected.
Cawwwwwww!
A crow's cry echoed across the forest as I approached the corpses with a small smile on my lips.
"This is my favorite part" My eyes sparkled as three gray soul wisps formed where the beasts were murdered.
This was the reason I couldn't resist killing them all. Death magic's greatest perk was its ability to devour souls and use them as replacements for cultivation materials.
I watched the soul wisps wiggling away, and I chuckled; it's always the same.
Buzz!
A powerful pull erupted from my body, halting their frantic retreat instantly. Then, dark green chains explode from my chest and impale the three souls before wheeling them into my body.
Warmth spread through my body, driving away the chill of the night cold. I loved this perk because it also fills me up and I don't have to eat afterwards.
I could survive on just souls.
"33 and barely any improvement from my core… This thing isn't as amazing as you described it." I said but Lin didn't back down.
{Do you expect the quality of Ironback board souls to be high? If they were strong you wouldn't be driving them to the brink of extinction.} He retorted and I rolled my eyes.
Nothing got Lin worked up more than the death magic. It felt like he didn't own the power, he worshiped this power like a God.
"So I need to find stronger beasts." I glanced deeper into the first with a thoughtful expression, however it was already getting late.
With no choice left, I made my way out. I didn't go too deep, so it only took me a few minutes to make it out; there, my carriage and guards were waiting.
We headed back to the Blackwood residence. Seated in the comfortable seats, I couldn't help but wonder how many more souls I needed to consume to enter the second stage of the mortal realm.
"Do I go deeper?" I mumbled.
{It depends on the cultivation base of the magic beast. I recommend you find out what it is from William attempting to search for it.} Lin advised, and I nodded in agreement.
The carriage rolled up the front gates of the Grand estate but another carriage was riding out hastily with two dozen guards—it was Lord William!
"What's going on?" I stuck my head out the window but they didn't seem to notice me because they were in a hurry.
Or rather, they didn't have time to spare me a glance.
"Follow them!" I ordered.
We chased after Williams' carriage for over thirty minutes, until we arrived at the bustling city of Blackwood Thicket. Lord William headed to an upscale residential area meant for the wealthy merchants and his carriage rolled to a stop just opposite a densely crowded building.
We stopped next to him and we both exchanged glances as we exited our carriages before taking bold strides towards the scene. Civilians gathered mumbling amongst themselves in hushed tones while some city guards outside paced back and forth with worried expressions.
"What the hell is going on?" I mumbled as we approached and everyone made their way, bowing as we walked through.
We entered the building and a wailing cry could be heard upstairs. The building was scanty since the guards kept the people outside. Speed walking up the staircase to the first floor, we took a sharp turn left and entered the first room on the right.
Bam!
The door yanked open, exposing a sizable room but not as glorious as mine. Merchants were usually wealthy, but their wealth was nothing in comparison to the House of Blackwood, which has existed for nearly a thousand years.
Standing next to the bed was an overweight man in a coat with silver embroidery and higher-quality fabric. He wore a feathered tricorn to distinguish rank so I guessed he must be the commander of this Black Thickets city guard.
I glanced at the blue-colored sashes worn across the chest and shifted my attention to finely crafted swords hanging loosely on his waist.
"What a waste." I rolled my eyes, wondering how this man defended himself and talked more about defending others.
My eyes left the buffalo guard, falling on the sobbing woman, but a man lying on the bed instantly snatched my attention. It was a bald, pot-bellied man in a white singlet and underwear. His breathing was shallow and he looked drained till the point of turning pale and his skin looking flaky.
His breaths were heavy and laborious and standing over him with its scythe raised.
"He's going to die," I muttered under my breath. "What kind of thing can do this?"
{I can name a few but for this? I'm certain it's a fox spirit. He probably went to a brothel with a lady and had his life force drained}
"They exist?" I slowly stepped out of the room while William consoled the lady.
There were books on supernatural creatures, vampires, and werewolves, to name a few. However, I didn't take them seriously since I hadn't seen one.
Monsters I have heard of and seen, but things that look like humans that can suck blood or turn to wolves in a full moon.
I'm not buying that.
{The world is vast, filled with creatures humanity has yet to find… Don't worry, you will get to meet all of them in your journey to Godhood.}
Huff!
I exhaled loudly, trying to process what was going on and the door behind me creaked open. William and the city guard commander stepped out with worried expressions.
"I thought we got all of those damned things! Robert died getting rid of their queen!"
I have never seen William this angry and who the hell is Robert?
The commander paled and fell to his knees, banging his head on the ground repeatedly while speaking.
"Forgive me, my Lord! We are mere humans, we cannot deal with things of the supernatural!" He cried out, leaving me even more confused.
"What the hell is going on?" I blurted out due to frustration.