Abe the Wizard

Under the starry night sky, the rugged Bennett Castle stood like a giant guarding the plains. This was the fief of the Bennett knights, located at the southernmost tip of the Kingdom of Kamei and on the border of the Rift Mountains. Here, far from war, it served as an important granary for the Kingdom of Kamei. The fields bathed in moonlight were neatly arranged, swaying gently in the summer night breeze as if displaying the fertility of the land. "Ahh!" A boy of about twelve with black hair was swinging a giant sword. He wore a suit of iron armor that was too large for his 1.5-meter frame, making it look like a buckle on him. However, his young face was serious, as if engaged in something sacred. With each swing of the giant sword, the boy would shout loudly, partly to exhale and partly to squeeze out every ounce of strength from his muscles. The sound of galloping hooves startled the boy who was focused on swinging his sword. He shook his black hair and revealed a young, tender face. His sweat had dampened the black hair, clinging to his cheeks, and his purple eyes gleamed with a dreamy light. "Abel, look what I brought for you," a young man of about 18 jumped off his horse, with long golden hair, thick eyebrows, a high nose, and sky-blue eyes. He wore leather armor and boots, and he handed a small package down from the saddle. "Big brother, you're back." Abel did not show as much curiosity about the gift as most children would. Instead, he politely greeted the young man. His older brother, Zach, had grown accustomed to Abel's demeanor. Ever since Abel fell from his horse and woke up a year ago, he seemed to have matured greatly. These two teenagers were both sons of Bennett knights. Zach, the elder, was 18 years old and a level 4 apprentice knight, having just returned from the town of Lipo. The younger one, who diligently practiced at night, was the second son of the Bennett knight, just beginning his apprenticeship two months ago. As the eldest son of the Bennett knight, if Zach could become a knight, then the knight's fief and the Bennett Castle would be inherited by Zach, while the younger Abel would have to strive for his own livelihood. However, this did not affect their relationship. Every time Zach went to town, he would take some of his meager pocket money to buy gifts for Abel, fulfilling his duty as an older brother. And Abel was always very sensible, never asking his father for training resources. Because although this knight's fief was a hundred miles around, it had no special products and relied only on the income from grain. After paying taxes on the grain income each year, there was only five hundred gold coins left. This money had to cover the expenses of the castle and the training costs of the eldest son, Zach, leaving almost no surplus. Abel took the package from Zach. It was a long, narrow box wrapped in colorful cloth, showing Zach's careful thoughtfulness in giving this gift. "What a beautiful dagger," Abel exclaimed with surprise, continuously fiddling with the dagger in his hand. This dagger was made of fine iron, heavier and more valuable than a normal iron dagger. "I'm glad you like it. I got lucky today. There was a clueless guy selling this dagger at only 70% of the price of a regular iron dagger, so I bought it." Seeing Abel's joy at the dagger, Zach was very happy. In the past year, Abel had rarely shown such a childlike smile. "You keep practicing. I'll head home first." Zach did not disturb Abel's practice further. After all, there was only one set of this iron armor in the entire castle, and most of the time during the day, this armor was designated for Zach's use. It was only at night that it would be handed over to Abel for practice. In the training of apprentice knights, the first thing was to practice the corresponding basic swordsmanship. These sword techniques could effectively compress and settle every bit of strength in the muscles, ultimately giving back to the body a kind of energy. This energy would gradually accumulate to form meridians. After accumulating five meridians in the body, the meridians would be compressed to form an energy core. A knight with an energy core was already a formal knight. They could use combat energy in battle, which could evoke various combat skills, enhancing the knight's combat power. To quickly compress the strength in the muscles, after thousands of years of exploration, the knights found that practicing in heavy armor could better speed up the formation of meridians. Therefore, every knight's household must have a set of iron armor, which could be used for practice and serve as a sturdy shield in battle. By reducing or increasing the number of armor pieces, both newly trained apprentice knights and higher-level knights could use the same set of armor for practice. Therefore, armor, like warhorses, was a standard equipment for knights. A knight without armor and a warhorse would not be recognized as a knight by anyone. "Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred." As Abel swung the final sword, the last bit of strength in his body also vanished, and he involuntarily lay down on the ground, looking up at the stars in the sky. He softly whispered, "Which star is my home?" The original Abel had died in a fall a year ago, and a soul from Earth had taken over this body, becoming the new Abel. This was the reason for the change in Abel's personality over the past year. A thirty-year-old soul entering a ten-year-old body would inevitably feel different. However, due to the impact of the fall from the horse, everyone thought it was just a shock to the child. Abel, formerly known as Li Yabo on Earth, was a senior fitness coach. Busy with work on weekdays, he remembered that night when he arrived home after 10 o'clock. Feeling a bit upset, he took out his notebook and opened the old game "Diablo II" to play. Because "Diablo II" was one of the few classic games on his notebook and one of his favorites. Clicking the icon, he played for a while and found that the "Town Portal Scroll" showed a quantity of zero. He often forgot to buy Town Portal Scrolls, but it was just to pass the time out of boredom. He opened the modifier, and modified the "Town Portal Scroll" to automatically regenerate every minute. After a while, he looked satisfied at the property of the "Town Portal Scroll." Just as he was enjoying himself, a lightning bolt struck the building where Li Yabo was. The lightning rod of the building had no effect, and the lightning passed through the wires, directly throwing Li Yabo, who was playing on his notebook, out. When Li Yabo woke up, he found that he had become the second son of the Bennett knight and was also called Abel. Putting aside his thoughts, Abel, now feeling a bit restored, stood up and walked towards the castle with his greatsword. Today, he felt good, and he might be able to advance to a level 1 apprentice knight tonight. Arriving at the castle, Abel did not go to eat immediately. There was still half an hour before dinner, and during this time, he needed to care for his armor. He carefully cleaned the sweat stains on the armor, painstakingly removing them bit by bit. Every piece of armor and every tiny crevice had to be thoroughly cleaned, and then treated with maintenance oil. Abel was very attentive to this process. Whether it was Abel or Zach, even the Bennett knight himself, after using this armor, they would all take care of it. It was a knight's tradition and a necessary means to preserve the armor. Next, it was the giant sword. This greatsword was a type of two-handed sword, with a huge blade and an unadorned hilt reflecting the creator's simple and practical perspective. After everything was done, Abel took a shower and then headed to the dining hall. His father, Bennett Knight, his mother, Nara, and his elder brother, Zach, were already seated.