Chương 6: Checkpoint

Kal needed to make a plan, one that would allow him to climb down the mountain and finish his Coming-of-Age quest. He was already halfway down the mountain—where the Moonweaver had left him—but he wasn't familiar with this part of it. He'd never been here before, and if the Moonweaver was to be believed, he only needed to follow the wagon road down. Kal was pretty sure that the Moonweaver had told him the truth, as there was no reason for the creature to lie.

His mind constantly replayed the last words the creature… Naezil had left him with. The wyvern's core could help him accomplish his dream. What did that even mean? Perhaps it could... but how? How would the creature know that he wanted to pursue that path of a mage? Could it read his mind? That made sense to him, as the creature had acted on what Kal had thought—and a few times at that. He had multiple reasons to suspect that. When he thought about asking it about his father, it had laughed.

There were other little things as well, but... … could all of it have been his imagination? That made sense to him as well, because most of his time in the cave had felt like a dream. Whatever influence the Moonweaver had on him had disappeared, and the dream had shattered. It had taken him quite a long time to tell what was reality and what was a thought formed under its influence. There was also the chance that it was just reading his body language. Kal stopped overthinking and studied the area around him.

The path ran along the edge of the mountain. One side of the path ended in rocky terrain that led toward the peaks. From where he stood, it seemed impossible to climb. Kal walked over to the other side of the path, toward the edge of the mountain. His heart skipped a beat. The drop was so deep that he couldn't even see the bottom. There were a few places he could use to climb down, but he wasn't sure whether they would actually help him get back to the estate.

Perhaps he could use the route to hide if the need arose. And he hoped that it wouldn't. It was way too easy to slip and end his life if he had to go down there. After studying the area for a few moments, he saw a familiar landmark. That side led away from his father's territory and toward the Baron's. He recognized some of the landmarks easily. Up in the distance was the Weeping Willow Forest. From where he stood, it looked like a massive green wall.

There wasn't much information about the forest, and Kal had never had the chance to visit it. From what little he'd heard, travelers passing through it could hear the trees weeping—or at least that was what they all claimed when they rested at the taverns. The main reason for its name was the drooping branches and narrow leaves, which made the trees look as though they were crying. He'd have to find out for himself someday, when he was inevitably forced to attend one of the Baron's balls. He exhaled.

At least now, he knew which side to stick to. He moved back from the edge and went over to the other side of the path. There weren't too many trees, but there were enough for him to hide. Since the mountain was filled with demon folk, he would have to avoid them. It would be the first time he would see one of the noble races, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all—two awakened and dozens of mundane ones.

He didn't even want to imagine what hid at the top of the mountain, since the Moonweaver had thought it would be a death sentence for him. At least, he would find out what made them noble. He took a deep breath. Now he had to finish his basic plan. To get back the fastest, he would have to follow the path, but that would also leave him exposed. The better approach would be to follow parallel to the path, taking the route with enough trees to hide him from view. He sat on the ground, and a plan slowly came to life.

It wasn't anything complicated since he didn't have enough information for that; it was just a basic outline of what he shouldn't do. Most of it consisted of recalling his training and his brother's advice. When he was done, he drew the blade out of its sheath. It was the first time since he'd gotten it that he wanted to study it. Earlier, his mind had been too overwhelmed by everything that he hadn't even thought about it. It was a mistake he didn't plan to repeat.

Familiarity with his sword was the first step in forming a bond, but it was also the first lesson he had ever gotten from Carcian. The more familiar you are with your blade—its weight and length—the easier wielding it becomes. He recalled his words and felt the blade's weight. As soon as he felt comfortable with it, he brought it in front of his eyes. The sword's black handle was big enough to fit both of his hands. The pommel was circular with a cap, making the grip comfortable and strong.

The sword's guard was on the smaller side and etched with runes, just like the handle was. It was double-edged, and its blade was as long as his arm. The center of the blade was black, while toward the edges it faded to silver. He rose from the ground and fell into a stance. His left leg was extended forward, while his right was planted firmly on the ground. Lunar Balance, the balanced stance of his family. It made striking easier, but it also made retreating faster. It was a stance meant for a balanced fight.

He went through the stance, one step at a time. It took him more than fifteen minutes to go through it and feel comfortable wielding the sword. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. At the end, just like the training sword had felt like an extension of his hand, the new blade felt the same, as much as his limited experience allowed. It was far from perfect, but perfecting it would require training and familiarity with the blade.

Getting familiar with it was easy because it was nearly identical to his training sword. It was simply made from Lunarsteel instead of wood and etched with runes. Kal took his time recovering from the little training he'd done; the sun was darkening as well. Soon, it would be time for his descent to begin. … The moon hung high in the night sky as Kal held his breath. A few hours had passed since he'd begun his descent, and for the first time, he spotted a demon folk.

He hid between two trees that stood close together, watching the demons through the narrow gap. Just a few meters away, on the main path, stood three demons. It looked like a checkpoint, with the demons hiding in the vegetation, away from prying eyes. They wore carapace armor that protruded slightly from their bodies. Two carried axes, while the last one carried a greatsword. They stood silently on the edge of the path, their gazes fixed on the road. Kal had gotten lucky. He'd heard them before they heard him.

His mind raced as he contemplated his next move. He knew there were two Awakened demons on the mountain and that he should avoid them at all costs. He had no chance against them. Fighting one would just be throwing his life away. Looking at the demons in front of him, he was quite certain that neither of the Awakened was there. The Awakened were beings who had already awakened their cores, making their instincts and senses much sharper, along with many other things he was yet to study—or perhaps experience.

Awakening was the first step toward wielding mana. From where he stood, an awakened could hear his heartbeat. At least, that's what Carcian had told him during one of their training sessions. Even though he was certain that there wasn't an awakened among them, he still wasn't sure if he could fight them. If there was only one, he might stand a chance, but against three, he didn't see himself winning. Especially not against the one with the sword.

The demon was at least a head taller than him and looked much, much stronger. His sword alone was as long as Kal. The demon tribes that lived on the mountain were warrior tribes that trained from a young age, just as his family did. And he still didn't have any experience facing demon folk. They were also a noble race, and noble races were much stronger than humans or any of the lesser races. There were differences between noble races.

The demon folk in front of him were among the weaker ones, but they were still considered a noble race. He couldn't allow himself to underestimate them. The best way to get past them was to wait for a distraction. It was already dark, and even though the moon was almost full, the trees around him blocked most of the light. Time passed as Kal kept his eyes fixed on the demons. They didn't seem to make any noise. The fact that he'd heard them at all had really been a miracle.

They stood at an ambush spot, which meant they knew someone was descending the mountain. Otherwise, they would have been facing the other direction. Perhaps they were waiting for the Moonweaver? But that didn't make sense. They were too weak to go against the creature. After a long time that felt like an eternity to Kal, the sword-wielding demon stretched his body. Kal analyzed the area around him. He lowered himself to the ground as soon as it looked like the demon would turn toward him.

He didn't make a sound, keeping his lower body still as he moved only his upper body. He moved his head slightly, looking through the narrow gap between the tree trunks, where they nearly touched. The demon was staring in his general direction. His gaze passed over Kal's hiding spot before stopping. Kal's hand closed around the hilt of his sword as he recited a prayer to the Lady of Fortune in his head. The demon didn't move his gaze from Kal's hiding spot. Every moment felt like an eternity.

Was he going to get discovered by the first demon folk he encountered? His knuckles turned white from the pressure he put on the sword. Crack. A sound came from his right. Kal quickly turned, but somehow managed to keep himself from drawing his sword. A few meters away, a rabbit stood munching on moss from a tree. It raised its head, staring at Kal as Kal stared back at it. The little bastard was going to give away his position.

Get away, he screamed inwardly as he stared at the rabbit, but it didn't move and continued munching on the moss. A light footstep came from the direction of the path, and Kal cursed inwardly. Was a rabbit going to be the reason he failed? He glanced between the trees and saw the demon moving toward him, his hand already gripping the large sword on his back. He was moving slowly, making very little noise. Kal returned his gaze to the rabbit and, with his free hand, made a shooing motion toward it.

It still didn't budge. Kal took a slow breath and prepared himself mentally. If he was going to fight three enemies at once, he needed to take out the swordsman coming toward him first. That would at least give him a better chance of survival. He didn't see that happening. The demon was overly cautious, keeping his distance and only advancing when he was certain of his next step. Perhaps he could use the rabbit to distract him enough to get an opening and strike first. But how?

The footsteps continued getting closer. Kal glanced toward the other two demons and noticed they were staring in his direction. His hand trembled slightly as his mind desperately searched for a way to survive. Crack! The sound of a twig breaking echoed through the silent air. Just as Kal was about to draw his sword, the rabbit's ears turned toward the demon, and it bolted away. Every jump echoed in the silent night. The demon pulled his sword from his back and charged toward the location where the rabbit had been.

Kal lowered his head and body as much as he could without making a sound. Within moments, the demon ran past him and continued in the direction the rabbit had bolted. A deep, rough chuckle came from the direction of the road. The demons by the road talked as they stared in his direction. Kal didn't understand a word, but it felt like they were mocking the sword-wielding demon. The swordsman turned toward them and said something before bolting in the direction the rabbit had escaped.

Kal took a deep breath as the noise continued to provide him a sense of safety. He glanced toward the road. The demons were still talking, their gazes fixed in the direction the swordsman had run. He had to make a decision quickly. There was a slight opening he could use to put some distance between himself and the demons, but the only direction he could go was the same way the rabbit had run. If he was lucky, the demon wouldn't see him, and he could leave the area quickly.

The situation wasn't ideal, but even if the demon saw him, the others were far enough away that Kal would have time to deal with him before they arrived. After another glance, he moved. Keeping his body and head low, he moved away from the demons. The only thing he focused on was avoiding anything that could make too much noise beneath his feet. The area around him was filled with bushes, plants, and trees. Everything was much more overgrown than it had been before.

It made his escape both easier and more difficult. There were more things to take cover behind, but there were also too many things that would make noise if he stepped on them. Slowly, he made it far enough that the axe-wielding demons could no longer see him, and he increased his speed. The first step of his escape was completed. Now he would have to find where the swordsman was and avoid him as well. That turned out to be easy, as the demon wasn't hiding anymore.

A cracking noise, followed by a crashing one, came from a few meters in front of him. Kal hid behind a large bush that covered his entire body. The demon emerged from the vegetation in front of him, a small, headless carcass hanging from his hand. Blood dripped onto the ground. The demon kept muttering something that Kal didn't understand. Kal held his breath and focused solely on not making any noise. The leaves of the bush swayed lightly with each breath. The demon slowly moved past him.

The only sounds were blood dripping onto the ground and the demon's nearly silent footsteps. Just as Kal allowed himself to relax, the footsteps stopped. He didn't dare to turn. A few tense seconds passed before the demon started walking again... toward Kal. A loud sniffing sound came from behind Kal as he stood frozen. Had the demon sniffed him out like a hunting dog?