Chapter 2

  As I laid in my bed, I could feel my muscles throb and ache from the practice forms I had been acting out all afternoon. The only break I got was when mother asked me to deliver some medicine to another sick individual in the Township and when I was called into the house for supper. Afterwards, I took a quick bath and put on my night clothes before climbing into bed.

  However, I just could not seem to get to sleep no matter what I tried.

  Throwing off my blanket, I discarded my sleep clothes and threw on a shirt, some pants, and boots before then opening the window in my room. Looking into the backyard I saw that no one was around and that all the lights inside the house were extinguished.

  Giving a final glance towards my door, I then flung my body out of the window and began hanging from the window frame with an iron grip. I then proceeded to angle my body to my left till I felt my feet touch a hard surface and then once my feet were secure, I pushed off the window frame with enough force so that my hands could catch onto the trellis that was a foot from my window.

  The trellis was part of the garden that mother had planted behind the house to help supplement some of her more common apothecary ingredients. As was the case with the trellis which had Sap Ivy, an easily found ingredient that was used in cold remedies, winding its way up its wooden slats.

  After leaning back over to close my window, I carefully began climbing down making sure I did not disturb any of the ivy and give away that I had used the structure to leave the house. I had used this escape method for many years when I needed to leave the house, without anyone knowing, so I could go off and be alone.

  As I reached the bottom of trellis, I lowered myself to the patch of dirt where the rest of mother’s garden had been planted and shifted the weight of my feet ever so slightly so as not to leave footprints in the soil as I exited the garden patch.

  Checking my surroundings for a final time, I made a sprint into the forest behind the house and began following a trail that I had utilized numerous times in the past. The path was slightly worn which enabled me, even in the darkness that the canopy of the forest projected, to find my way to my desired destination. As I moved forward, I eventually came upon a tree with an X carved into its base near the roots of the tree most would miss if one was not looking for it.

  Stopping for a moment to catch my breath, I then found a branch that was just at the right height for me to jump up and grab it. Leveraging my body I then swung up and ended up sitting on the branch I was just hanging from.

  With that hurdle cleared it was an easy task to find the next branches and continue climbing until I reached the top of the tree which I had cleared of any obstructions and offered me a clear view of the forest around and the night sky above me.

  This was my special place. A place I came to be alone and reflect on my life. As I gazed up at the night sky the twin moons gazed back. One moon was bigger than the other and radiated a bright orange color that was mesmerizing to look upon. The second, slightly smaller moon, radiated a deep purple color that made one almost shiver at the darkness the color exhibited.

  It was said that the twin moons represented the opposing forces of this world. The orange moon representing the intelligent races, Humans, Elves, Beastfolk, and other races, that used logic and order to govern their interactions. While the purple moon represented the monsters that roamed the land and followed the law of chaos and destruction to tear apart everything that was in their path.

  I was always fascinated by this dichotomy because I always wanted to be an adventurer. Not because my sister was one, but because of the stories mother would read to me when I was younger.

  Stories about amazing journeys and brave adventurers battling monsters to save the world or even a poor village from being destroyed. It could also be said that it was liken to what my father ended up doing, just as a General in the Capital Knights.

  However, my dream of becoming and adventurer would not come to pass. Breathing deeply, I said in my head Status and a projection of my abilities appeared before my vision.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Name: Callum Luxeria

  Age: 16

  Skill: Basic Swordsmanship

  Sub-Skills:

  Slash, Parry, Thrust

  Str: 10

  Agl: 12

  Dex: 13

  Mana: 2

  Int: 5

  Wis: 3

  This disappointment of a Status Board had been staring me in the face since I was ten years old. A day that I do not think of fondly as it was the day that my dream of becoming an adventurer came apart.

  In this world when a person reaches the age of ten, they are granted permission to head to City Hall and touch what is known as a Skill Stone. Every major Township has a Skill Stone, but smaller villages do not which results in many from smaller hamlets journeying to more populated Townships or even the Kingdom’s Capital if they are closer to receive their lifetime, Skill.

  By touching the Skill Stone a person’s latent Skill is awakened allowing the individual to do everything from the incredible to the mundane with the Skill and Sub-Skills they are gifted. Although, the accuracy that one can achieve with their gifts can only come with practice to fully understand how they affect your actions when the skills are engaged.

  When I turned ten, I could not wait to receive my Skill and do the incredible things that the rest of my family where able to do with their skills. My sister was even able to leverage some time off so she could be in attendance for the event. However, when I put my hands upon the Skill Stone and my awakened Skill turned out to be the lowly common skill of [Basic Swordsmanship], my world shattered.

  [Basic Swordsmanship] was not a skill for adventurers, it was the Skill of an ordinary town guard who usually got killed by a monster while on a routine survey mission. There were some who became adventurers with this Skill, but they never rose above F-Rank within the Adventurers Guild.

  So, here I was, training day after day to squeeze out some marginal more use from my low-tier Skill. Father said that when I was old enough to join the City Watch, if I proved myself exemplary in combat, then I could start out as a Lieutenant. Which was just under the captain in terms of authority.

  It was father’s attempt to cheer me up about a decent future I could have, and it was a secure goal to work towards, but in my heart, I yearned to do more with my life.

  It was the reason why I trained so hard every day since I was ten years old. It was the reason I came to this tree so many times to be alone and pontificate. It was the reason why I continued to stare up at the moons and reflect.

  I wanted to be an adventurer and live out the stories from my youth.

  And, maybe, deep down, I wanted to feel worthy to be in this family where everyone else had great skills that allowed them to do more with their lives than most ever got the chance to do.

  Sighing, I took my palms and slapped my cheeks to try and get my mind back in order from the self-depreciation I had just gone through for the thousandth time.

  As I looked out onto the forest, I noticed a dense fog had rolled in and was blanketing the entire forest. It was a common occurrence in the Night Glen Forest, and it usually burned off by mid-morning.

  Seeing this, I then began to make my way down out of the tree so I could get back to my room before my parents noticed my absence.

  After a few branches down, I suddenly felt my foot slip out from under me. I quickly tried to grab onto a branch to stop myself from falling, but my hand also failed to find purchase with the branch as it too slipped from my grasp. I then realized that the fog, that had rolled in all around me, had made the branches of the tree extra slick with dew.

  As I fell towards the ground, I could feel my whole body collide with various branches breaking them as I fell and causing my body to be scraped and bruised from the collisions.

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see the forest floor rushing to greet me and only thought, “What a stupid way for my life to end, falling out of a tree.” Although, considering the way my life would have played out, maybe this was for the better than having to face the disappointment of my meager future.

  “Forget That!” I defiantly screamed in my head. I was determined to do something with my life despite my Skill. I was determined to live and prove that even with [Basic Swordsmanship] I could go on exciting adventures.

  With that mindset I tried to right my body while it was falling to try and land on my legs and cushion the impact, but just as I was about to succeed, an errant branch collided with my back and forced my body to tumble into a position where my head was now the leading part of my body falling.

  At that point, my fall from the tree ended abruptly when my head crashed into the ground before the rest of my body and my whole conscious faded to black.