CHAPTER 2
1737 Words
CHAPTER 2
Mission 2: Learn to Use a Weapon and Get Stronger
"WHOEVER SHALL SLAY the dragon, will marry my daughter, Princess Patricia of Enchantria," the king proclaimed from the tower of the castle's gate.
Men who were on training gathered below just to hear the announcement. All of the men, except him, shouted their excitement.
"Is that it?" he uttered. As a human from the modern world, he wouldn't take it for a reward. Of course, he can bed any women he wants.
"What do you mean 'Is that it?' ?" the man beside him talked. "Haven't you heard the beauty of the princess?"
"What about it?" he asked, uninterested.
"Come to think of it. If you slay the dragon, you will marry the princess. And if that happens, you as the husband of the princess will soon take over the kingdom."
If he was also one of those men who grew up in that kingdom, he would be excited too. But he was not.
"Grey! Hey!" A man shouted a name towards him.
It was a name he heard before. When he was still a little boy, who haven't use any other name to be famous. It was a name he used before he became as Yuri, the author.
Did someone also transported from the modern world?
"Grey!" A tall man around his age dove to him, and give him a slight punch on his shoulder.
He somehow looked like his manager on the modern world. Tall, woody-toned skin, and has glimmery chestnut eyes of charismatic bachelor. He was a cheerful man, far from the nagger man he knows.
"Don't stare at me like that, Grey. Don't tell me, you can't recognize your own cousin. It's Dio."
They might have the same face, but different name and personality.
It's just maybe a coincidence that the body he is in right now has the same name as him.
"You've learned how to swim that fast? I thought you're gonna drown down there," Dio said. "And I saw you shouting like a lost child, asking to go home. Well, don't worry Grey. We were given one day to go home once a month."
"Okay?" he said nodding, unsure of what to say.
"You're acting weird, bro. Come on. Let's go home."
They rode on a carriage pulled by a horse. He tried riding a horse but it was his first time riding a real carriage. It took hours before their transportation stops. Thankfully, because Dio did not stop talking until they arrived their hometown.
He came to find out that he came from a family of Vinyard. They might have the same face and name but their surname were different. Not only that. Royal family members have magical powers. They can heal and sometimes has elemental powers.
That made him thinks of a plan. What if he would slay the dragon? He'll ask another wish rather than marrying their princess. He'll ask to be returned to his real world. Now, he just have to train to kill the dragon and that's it. But how would he do that?
They walked for a few hours in a provincial land where vegetable farms, trees, and few houses, about a hundred meters away from each other, were the only things he could see.
The sun has finally set and the world is starting to get dark.
"Say hi to uncle Habeck for me!" His cousin left him on the crossroad before their house. He says that's the way to his place.
He took few more walks to arrive at a small yet very detailed house. It wasn't in a bad state. Neither was it extravagant. There was a well as a source of water supply in front and beside it was an old man.
He wasn't that old enough but he can say his muscles are well built. He was chopping the pile of woods with his sharp ax. It only took him one strike to chop a half meter wood trunk.
"Oh. You're finally home," the man greeted him. "Come here and give your old man a hug."
He awkwardly went near him and let his father tap his back and shoulders.
"Whoa! What happen to you? You're now letting me hug you?" he asked.
This might be Habeck, his father. Dio told him a while ago.
He took a sigh and sat down on a big chunk of tree trunk nearby as he put his sword on the side of the trunk.
"How do I get strong? How can I slay a dragon when in the first place, I don't even know how to wield a sword."
"Liar. You've always been holding one your whole life," Habeck said, looking at him in disbelief.
Of course, he's not his real son. He can feel and see some changes because of him, inside his son's body.
Habeck's son might be a great wielder of a sword. But he is not. His hands weren't born in such things.
"Come on!" Habeck stood up and left the ax on the pile of woods. "Get up," he said as he picked up a long stick. "Even if all your life, you've only held books, papers, and pens, you still need to know how to wield a sword. Especially in our world. No one survives knowing nothing. Now, pick up your sword and try to defeat me."
Habeck stood in a stunt that he was ready to fight him with that long stick on his hand.
But that wasn't his concern. He was stunned at what he just said. Does he know anything? That he is just an impostor of his son? He knows that he is holding books all his life?
Habeck stepped forward and swiftly swayed the stick to him. If he did not rolled, he would have a bad bruise on his head.
"That's it. Hold your sword tightly," he reminded him. "And whatever happens, never let go of it."
He looked at his hand that was now holding his sword. That was fast. He did not even notice that he reached out for it.
Habeck came to attack him again and he shielded his sword to his stick.
How the hell could he do that? He's fighting with a wooden stick while he is fighting with a bladed weapon. Seems unfair. But he was on the losing side, though he has a sword.
Habeck was way too strong for him. Is it maybe he has been swaying his ax every day? He said he was just a woodcutter. But it seems that he was as good as a general in an army when it comes to fighting.
His father attacked him while he keeps on shielding himself.
He was huffing. "I give up," finally he said.
"What is it?" his father asked.
"Huh?"
"What is it that you want? Use it as a motivation. You won't achieve anything unless you keep on fighting."
What is it? He just wanna go home. And the royal family members can help him if he slays the dragon. But in order to achieve it, he must get stronger.
That's it. He's not a loser. He never was. Now, he only has one thing to focus to. Learn to use a sword and get stronger.
"Haaaa!" he shouted as he attack the old man with the sword he was gripping tightly. He swayed it, copying steps of his father a while ago.
Until he cut his stick and put the blade in front of his father's throat.
"That's what I'm talking about," Habeck grinned.
He put the sword down, still panting.
"So, you want to marry the princess?" his father asked. "News spread easily. I heard King Thais announced it this afternoon."
"I'm not interested in that prize," he answered.
"Really? Well, not until you see her. You might change your mind."
He put his hands on his own waist.
"Did you already saw her?" he asked. He thought women royals never show their faces just to anyone.
"Perhaps," Habeck answered briefly. "Come on. Let's make some dinner. After that, you can finally rest."
They grilled meats and have some booze. It was like a mini feast for his return. He doesn't know if it's the alcohol that made him feel happy. Or maybe because no one ever made that for him just because he came home. He felt so appreciated.
It was passed midnight when his father passed out. He helped him to his room while he went to see the whole parts of the small house.
What he got was expected. It was just a plain house. Nothing more.
He, then, went to the other room. That might be his room.
He was about to sleep when he felt something under his pillow. His hand felt it and came to know that it was a book. He knows what a paper feels like.
Though tipsy, he got up to light the lamp once again. He took the thing under his pillow. It was really a book. A thing that can make him stay up all night.
It looks old, more like antique. The edges of the pages were slightly damaged and already turned to brown. The front cover were made of a wood and the title "Histoire" was engraved in a nice gothic font.
He began to take a look at it. Thankfully, it was written in a language he could understand.
"Enchantria. A place of merriness and prosperity, ruled by the King and Queen the villagers who loved so dearly..." he started mumbling then went to silent reading.
It was a history of the Kingdom he was in right now. He continued reading and came to know more about the land. It was a history for the people but a fantasy book for him.
Unfortunately, he couldn't finish it all. As a reader, he felt betrayed that an author never finishes his work. But that wasn't it all about.
Half of the book was missing. The binder that's keeping the book together looks shattered. It was torn apart into parts.
He wanted to finish it. He wanted to ask Habeck about it but he knows he was too drunk to wake up.
Even if he wanted so badly, sadly, he couldn't find out what happen after the witch casts a spell to stop the greediness of the King that once ruled Enchantria.
- Writer
