The Abysmal Territory

[7]

“A heart, a heart that could surpass any challenges. A heart that could overcome fears and death in front of him. He who will not be wavered by any kind of hindrances. And most of all, he who thinks of everyone more than himself,” Teiko answered.

Everyone stared at Teiko.

“That’s some deep answer. But isn’t that just braveness but just leveled up?” Reto asked.

“Nope, it’s not that simple. But Teiko’s answer is what I wanted to hear from you guys,” Dalton said.

“How can that thing be significant as a hero? Power is more useful than that kind of thinking,” Reto said.

“Listen, everyone. I’ve spent too much time with Toya, the Hero of my generation. He’s the most powerful swordsman and the most intelligent human I’ve ever known. But that’s not what stands out in his character. He’s the kindest person ever. From his childhood, the ambition of becoming a hero never leaves his mind,” Dalton said.

“What was my father like during those times?” Taiya asked.

“He does things even though he’s the only one that will suffer. I remember him during a sandstorm, one house in the mountain was invaded by monsters. Even the elders and other officials said that there will be no hope for the people living in that house, but even with that, he’s heart didn’t falter. He went there alone without our knowledge,” Dalton said.

Everyone was listening carefully to Dalton, they wanted to know the story about their saviour and about a human that became a hero.

“After some days, he returned to that village. He was full of wounds and we couldn’t even recognize him due to his own blood that covered his whole body. But even with that, what everyone notices is the smile on his face, he was filled with joy as he was able to rescue the whole family that lives on that mountain,” Dalton said.

“Wow, that’s very amazing. That’s a legend for you,” Ema said.

“The story is not yet finished. The child in that family also became a great swordsman like all of you are wanting to be,” Dalton said.

“Wow, Dad really is such an amazing hero. To change others even in the brink of death,” Taiya said.

“I declared that I’ll be the next hero from this village,” Reto said.

“Are you also a hero, Dalton-sensei?” Ryota asked.

“How I wish! If only the things you said earlier was the qualification of a hero that I’ll surely become one,” Dalton answered.

“Is there a requirement before you can call yourself a hero?” Teiko asked.

“Yes, that’s what really is my lesson for all of you. Though I’m sure that it will not be of much use for everyone. But knowledge is a strong weapon so I might as well teach you with everything I got,” Dalton said.

“I don’t care what’s that requirement, but I’ll for sure become a hero myself,” Reto proclaimed.

“One should pass three trials before becoming a hero. The first trial will test a person’s ability to overcome the past, that’s my perception about it but other beings also said that that's what the trial was about. Less than one percent of the people passed that test and proceeded to the second one,” Dalton said.

“How did your trial go, Dalton sensei?” Teiko asked.

“I underwent my first trial for about three days and two nights but I wasn’t able to reach half of that test. I gave up the trial even though I didn’t want to due to fatigue and exhaustion,” Dalton said.

“Are you only allowed to undergo the trial once?” Taiya asked.

“No, it’s as long as you wanted. But you will understand why people give up after just one try if you could face it yourself. Even remembering my trial makes me nauseous. That is the reason that I upheld a great respect to the people that passed the first trial,” Dalton said.

“Is there any requirement before you could face the trial?” Teiko asked.

“Of course. You need to be fifteen years old or older before you could take it and also you should have the Stone of Maverick with you,” Dalton replied.

“It’s a precious stone that can be found in different places, but finding one on your own will take a lot of time and effort,” Dalton said.

“So aside from the three trials, you also need to do that on your own?” Ben asked.

“Actually, you don’t need to do that on your own. Some people, like royalties from a kingdom, hire men to find that stone. If you're a member of the royalties, you could easily get a hold of it. Some people also sell it but at an unimaginable amount of gold,” Dalton said.

“Hmm? So if you ever get a chance to have royalty as your partner then it could also be easy,” Reto said.

“That could also do, but most often, royalties wouldn’t entertain people from outside of their kingdom,” Dalton said.

“So after we obtain the Stone of Maverick, where will we use it to have access to the trial?” Teiko asked.

“Listen everyone. I know that most of you wanted to be a hero. A hero is just not a word to describe a person, that’s why I already told you about the trial. A hero is a title that can be attained through finishing all the trials. But the place where you could do the trial is very dangerous and too far from this place,” Dalton said.

“So we need to go outside to do that right?” Ben asked.

“Are you also stupid, even just getting the stone, we need to go outside,” Reto said.

“Yes, you need to go outside. The entrance is located at Hamori Mountain, the trail goes through three mountains. But the thing is, the village chief and the elders already decided that no one should leave this sanctuary. Meaning, you don’t even have a chance of finding the stone needed for the trial,” Dalton said.

“Sensei, that’s not fair,” another student said.

“It is, if we are in a situation just like before, we might have a chance to get there. But right now, that mountain is under the abysmal territory,” Dalton said.