The Abysmal Territory

[8]

“Abysmal territory?” Teiko asked.

“Yes, that's what everyone called that place. The beings that ruled that place used that name as theirs. And from the name itself, you know what I’m implying here,” Dalton said.

“That means, that no one dares to undergo the trial of being a Hero?” Teiko asked.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it is the case. I don’t want to let all of you down but this is really what’s happening. We’re already safe in this sanctuary so there’s no need to go outside,” Dalton said.

“Then I’ll go on my own. You can just forget about me!” Reto said.

“Even if you do that, you cannot guarantee that you will succeed and become a hero. Not that I’m discouraging you but the risk outweighs the reward by so much difference. I could say this because all of my life, I have strived to be a Hero,” Dalton said.

“But as you have discussed, one characteristic of being a hero is being selfless right?! Even if I have to sacrifice my life, if that could help other people, then even if my effort will just go to nothing, I’ll try to become one,” Teiko said.

“But everyone here is already safe,” Dalton said.

“No! Not everyone! You’re just including the people here. How about the other people living in other villages? They don’t have a sanctuary that is safe like us. I want to save everyone, everyone in the Gekozen,” Teiko exclaimed.

“Teiko might be stupid, but I agree with him this time. Dalton sensei, please guide us to the path of becoming a Hero!” Reto exclaimed.

“Both of you, stop it. You must realize that Dalton-sensei just wants everyone to be safe here. If the thing that you are saying can really be achieved, then there’s no way that Dad didn’t try that, right?” Taiya said.

Both Teiko and Reto realized it. They become calm and continue listening to Dalton.

“I hope that what Taiya said helped the both of you,” Dalton said.

“Sensei, if being a Hero is just a title, then why does everyone want to be one,” Taiya said.

“Personally, I wanted to be one so I could become stronger so I could help more people,” Dalton said.

“So achieving that title would boost your power? Am I correct?” Ben asked.

“I’m actually not sure about this, but many people said that after obtaining the title, you will receive God's blessing. A power that could increase your power about fivefold. And if you couldn’t use magic, you will be granted mana that could be used for basic magic spells,” Dalton answered.

“Magic? That thing really exist? I only read them in books but I’ve never thought that that’s the real thing,” Reto exclaimed.

“Yes, Toya could use it since he got God's blessing but he didn’t really try to learn using it so he seldom used it in battle. Well, Aica is a bit different. She’s born with a vast amount of mana so she’s really a magic user. Though you didn’t know about this since she already gave much of her mana to create this sanctuary,” Dalton said.

Everyone was astonished by what they heard.

“Does that mean that some of us might have mana and could use magic?” Reto asked.

“Yes, that can be true. However, I couldn’t teach about magic, simply because I don’t possess any mana. And neither of anyone here in the village could use magic. You would know it for yourself if you have mana and since no one is experiencing that kind of thing, we could say that no one here has mana,” Dalton said.

“Hey, Saki. The ability you use to freeze time is magic, right?” Teiko asked.

“Yup, though it’s advanced magic and no one could simply learn it by mere hard work. Even if the God’s blessing that your teaching is saying could not be compared to my power,” Saki said.

“Too much for a Demigod, huh?” Teiko said.

“Also, if you got the title of being a hero. A symbol will appear in some part of your body, that symbolizes that you finished all the trials and got God's blessing. That’s how you can identify if a being is a hero. That’s also the reason that you could not randomly hear someone proclaiming to be a hero,” Dalton said.

That symbol that my Dad has on his chest is the proof of him being a hero. Wait, mom also got something like that. Though it’s not similar to the symbol and also not in the same area. Teiko thought to himself.

“That does mean that my Mom is also a Hero?” Teiko asked.

“Oh, so you also see your mother’s symbol. Yes, she also passed the trial of a hero,” Dalton replied.

“Really, even though my mom is that strong and built just like my dad?” Teiko asked.

Dalton laughs. He said, “Actually that’s not right, even your father is afraid of your mother’s strength. As I said earlier, she has different expertise. But she’s very powerful back in those days. Toya is just more famous than your mom since he always shows valor and always tries to save everyone as much as possible.”

“So the symbol that will appear in a hero has many different styles?” Taiya asked.

“Yup! Every hero has a unique symbol in their body,” Dalton replied.

“Then does that mean that I could just copy some hero’s symbol and just tweak it a little and I could claim that I’m a hero?” Reto asked.

“No, you will be proven a fraud in an instant. That symbol, when seen by anyone’s eye, would emit some aura that would make a person realize that it’s real,” Dalton replied.

“Really? It’s so cool, I want to have some!” Ben said.

“As I said, there are three trial rights. Since you know that the first one is the trial of the past, you should be able to realize that the second and the third one represent the trial of the present and the trial of the future,” Dalton said.

“Yes, sensei! I also figured out some method on how I could pass all the trials. All I have to do is ask the people that got the title and ask how they passed the trials,” Reto said.

“If that’s the case, why do you think that one percent could only pass the first one? Every being that faces the trial has a different test, so there’s no use of asking how others passed through them. It’s just like how the symbol of a hero is created. But then again, as I said, no one is allowed to leave this place so please don’t think too much of what I said. I’m just teaching you this so the curiosity in your mind will be solved. I’ll answer everything you ask if my knowledge will allow it, so don’t find the answer on your own. Is that understood?” Dalton said.