Chương 12: First Mission

Two more months of training passed. We moved from group fights to intense one-on-one sparring. For me it was brutal. Every session pushed me to my absolute limit. Galer moved like someone who possessed a mastery I could not yet grasp in mind or body,... fluid, unpredictable, and impossibly fast, with a strong presence. No matter how hard I tried, how fiercely I attacked, or how cleverly I tried to read his movements, he always seemed at least two steps ahead.

My left arm grew stronger, my movements sharper, and the flame inside me burned steadier with every session. Yet I could barely land a clean hit on him. For Galer, however, it was nothing more than a good warm-up. He never broke a sweat. He blocked, dodged, and countered with relaxed, almost lazy grace, often smiling or offering light corrections mid-fight. Sometimes he would even fight with one hand behind his back just to make it fairer for me. To him it was play. To me it was a war of survival.

Still, I refused to give up. Each bruise, each stumble, each time I hit the dirt only made the fire in my chest burn hotter. I was getting better... slowly, painfully, but undeniably better over my past self. I was no longer the mere miner or the one-armed slave boy. I was becoming a proper warrior, in my mind at least. One morning Galer returned from a solo trip from the nearby trading post, looking excited.

"I found our next training job," he said.

"Mostly for you. I am working as a mercenary around here to make real coin and gather information around Europarum. Being a merc is the best way to learn about a nation's territory, especially a region like this." I stared at him in surprise. Someone who looked and carried himself almost like royalty of noble descent... working as a mercenary? Before I could say anything, he lightly punched the top of my head and laughed.

"You might be right to look shocked. Anyway, the job is simple: clean up a monster problem that they have. There are Satyrs causing trouble, coming from the south of this plateau. No one knows why they've wandered this deep into Dadania, but our path goes straight through the Abandonment Zone which is perfect warm-up training. Once we're done, we'll head to the nearest church or chapel to check your current Animo. I am also getting curious how much you have improved under my tutelage in spirit level."

Before we left, Galer took me back to the gold cave one more time. After some careful searching, he selected a good-quality longsword for me that was lying there it was better than the short training sword that, I had battered during our training time together; in a life-or-death mission, it made no sense to carry a mere training tool. Thankfully, he found this fine blade hidden within the rich depths of the cave of Dacram.

"You said you prefer longswords," he told me.

"This one has a solid balance and a strong blade. It should serve you well for now." He didn't stop there. He also picked out a set of Ironcoal armor,... a simple but sturdy chest piece, shoulder guards, and bracers made from dark, hardened Ironcoal ore. The armor was tough and difficult to break on first glance, though it weighed a bit more than regular steel. Most importantly, it covered the branding on my shoulder stump completely from prying eyes.

"Otherwise it would be problematic if someone sees that eye of enslavement with an H symbol," Galer explained.

"You'd have to explain your circumstances every time, and not everyone would believe a runaway slave story or welcome one for that matter. Best is keep it hidden and this armor will hide it well and reduce the impact of incoming stronger attacks. It's not the lightest, but it's reliable." I nodded gratefully and strapped the armor on. It felt heavy at first, just as he had said, but I quickly got used to the weight during training, well before our mission began. We then set off deeper into the Abandonment Zone.

The giant spiders and other beasts we encountered were no longer a challenge. With my new longsword in hand and the Ironcoal armor protecting me, I moved through the woods with growing confidence. Galer fought with dual knives, throwing them with deadly precision or cutting deep into skin. Together we cut through the forest as easily as others might stroll through a meadow. As we traveled closer to the missions location, Galer explained the Satyrs:"They use their horns to create melodies.

The left horn usually pours out yellow light that boosts their speed and physical power. The right horn releases blue light that disrupts your rhythm and makes you slower or dizzy. They always hunt in packs of at least five to ten. This will be a good test of how much you've improved on your skills, If things get bad, just scream for me, I'll come running to help i believe we can do this." We reached the border of Dadania and continued to the small mountain village of Kikindo not far from the border.

The villagers were waiting for us, faces pale with worry.

"Quick Mercenaries they moved up into the hills," the village elder said.

"They play their songs and lure our children away. We have no way to defend ourselves against that. That's why we posted the task… but we know don't have much to offer as it stood on the post." Galer smiled gently.

"I don't need much. Just give me a carrot or two after we're done." He had noticed their carrot fields and the villagers nodded eagerly in relief. A small girl, no older than six, tugged at Galer's sleeve.

"Please… save my missing friends." Galer lightly tapped her forehead with his fist.

"Bet on it. We won't return without having tried to find them." So we went immediately out and climbed twenty-five kilometers north into the upper hills. The sound of strange, haunting melodies grew louder the closer we got. When we finally spotted them, there were sixteen Satyrs gathered around a campfire. Each stood between 1. 90 and 2. 10 meters tall, with muscular bodies covered in coarse fur.

Their horns curved from the top of their heads down close to their mouths, each horn pierced with three to five holes like natural wind instruments. Galer quietly told me, "Take their attention."

"Hey, you loud Satyrs!" I shouted, drawing my longsword.

"Enough playing with your horns, since I'm here to play with you now!" Their red eyes turned toward me. The left horns flared with yellow light, boosting their speed. The right horns glowed blue, and immediately I felt my body grow heavier, as felt gaining weight my movements sluggish. The blue melody made me dizzy and slow... each note seemed to sap another 5% of my speed and coordination. I fought hard, staying mostly on the defensive realizing how they operated.

The Ironcoal armor helped absorb some of the heavier blows, though the weight still slowed me slightly on recovery. I managed better than I expected, dodging and countering, but the Satyrs adapted quickly against me. Some began kicking and punching while others focused purely on playing the blue horn, slowing me down even further. Suddenly Galer burst from the treeline, his face twisted in rare anger. He had only managed to save four of the missing children, while i was taking their attention.

Twenty-five others of the missing children were left in the form of skeletons. He understood immediately what the campfire meant. Satyrs normally ate grass, olives, or deer... never children. His rage boiled over... veins popping out. Galer shoved the four dazed children... who were in a strange trance, able to follow orders but empty of personality... behind him. In a flash of light, he drew both knives. The blades glowed as if he carried the Light attribute of his.

Each knife extended by about six centimeters while keeping the same perfect weight and balance. With terrifying precision, he sliced through the Satyrs playing the blue horns. One clean cut and their bodies fell apart like sliced bread, insides disintegrating into dust. He moved like lightning, killing them in rapid succession carried by his inner rage. With every blue horn silenced, I felt 5% of my speed and clarity return. Finally free from the slowing melody on my ears, I switched from defense to attack.

I killed three Satyrs myself with clean longsword strikes, the Ironcoal armor protecting me from the worst of their kicks and punches. When the remaining creatures saw their numbers decimated, they tried to flee. I caught one more, as he was closer to me. Galer finished the rest with cold, precise cuts while they were in their panic state. He then turned to the surviving children. I went to the campfire and scattered it, breaking the trance it had them imbued with.

The children suddenly remembered everything and began screaming in terror and pain... vomiting onto the ground. Galer asked each living child the names of the dead ones that lied in the broken campfire and used his glowing daggers to carve their names into a large flat rock so they would be remembered, not just as victims, but the playful children they once were.

While the children cried and listed the names of the eaten ones, he and I cut down trees with our weapons (one falling tree branch even smacked me on the head, making the kids laugh through their tears for a moment). We gathered what little remained, mostly small bones and skulls and slowly led the four children back to the village. The families rushed out, embracing the returned children with tears and cries of "Where are the others?"

Galer waited until the families had taken the children inside, then pulled the broken stepped on skulls and bones from his satchel that he could carry with.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"This is all that remained." The village broke down in grief. He let them cry it out. Later, after they had calmed somewhat, the villagers gave him the promised carrots. Galer accepted them with a gentle smile.

"In memory of the children and this village, I wish you great recovery and healing." That night we built makeshift graves with the bones we had recovered. The surviving children came out, unable to sleep, and joined us in silent prayer for their lost friends, brothers, and cousins. We stood together in silence for a long minute. Then one small boy whispered, "Please… get the blue-horned monster that sat with them. It was their leader." Galer asked what it looked like. The boy described a tall creature about 2.

30 meters high, with blue skin, no clothes, and one long horn on its head... looking somewhat like a monstrous version of a powerful blue warrior. Galer frowned.

"I've never read about such a monster before. Where did it go?"

"It said it was heading to Bassania … alone." Galer nodded.

"Thank you. We will look into it. But first we need to return and tell the registry what was happening here." Back at the cabin, Galer immediately prepared to collect the full reward and gather information about this strange blue creature and its destination in Bassania.