When I return home I share the news of with my parents.
My father was ecstatic, whilst my mother clung onto me with a bone-crushing hug.
We spent tonight enjoying each other's company, or mourning in the case of my emotional mom whom I never really mentioned thus far.
My mother, her long gray silver hair of which I inherited, is a mess.
Tears stream like a waterfall.
The sight would've been comical had I not been on the receiving end of her sorrow.
"Mother's going to miss you so much! Why can't you stay!?!"
"Now, now sweetie. We ought to respect Ethan's decision-"
Before he can finish, my mother
"Oh, shut it Eric! You're the one who planted the idea into his head, didn't you!?"
My mother kept bawling her eyes out for another half or so until everyone went to bed.
The old veteran, or should I say, Lord Elios came by himself the next day arriving before our family's humble two-story manor.
My father profusely thanked my new mentor and sang his
I thought the old vet might be annoyed with his sycophancy, but no.
Instead, he and my father had a good laugh over some joke.
Just what did my father do to earn the respect of the Solyvr head?
Unfortunately, today won't be the day I find out as I leave on my apprenticeship to Sir Elio's
After a couple of hugs, kisses, and a bit more sobbing (mostly from my mother.) I depart with nothing more than a suitcase full of essentials, the clothes on my back and my trusty sword strapped to my waist, I give my parents one last goodbye and left the estate with my new mentor.
What happened next was a bit unusual.
Upon leaving my home, Sir Elios and I teleported?
I'm not sure how it works, but it's something way beyond magic.
Or is it magic? When rifling through Ethan's memories, I found his body has surprising compatibility with magic.
But for some reason, the bastard didn't exploit his talent and went down the path of swords instead.
I swear this son of a b-
Hold up, I'm Ethan now, I shouldn't say such things about my mother.
Ugh... This whole transmigration thing is complicated! I don't know if I'm a guy from Earth possessing Ethan, or Ethan himself remembering his past life as a guy from Earth!
So this must be how that spider felt.
You know what, none of that matters,
What matters is that within the first few steps of leaving the estate, the scenery completely changes.
Stranger is I didn't notice it change.
My body tells me I only took a few steps, but my brain says we're in an entirely location, possibly several hundred miles away.
The estate we left was in the countryside, with no noticeable landmarks other than some forests and mountains off in the distance.
In the next few blinks of an eye, the scenery shifts from farmland and plains to barren rocky fields, with the forest mountains close by that are only an hour's trek away.
Sir Elios' "Looks like you've said your farewells."
"Yup, quick question, will I see them again?"
"Probably not for a few years."
Although I'm not Ethan, I feel a tad bit sad having to be separated from them for such a long period of time.
They seemed like really nice people. I wonder if they ever noticed something was off about me?
Hopefully they don't, cuz I have no idea how to explain to them how some rando from earth ended up possessing their son's body, and said son is fated to trigger a country-ruining catastrophe.
Yeesh, barely knew them for two days and I get all mopey.
Might as well figure out where the old war- Sir Elios is taking me.
"So where exactly are we going, Sir Elios?"
"To your first lesson."
"First lesson?"
"What's the most important thing for a warrior?"
I rack my head for an answer, "Umm... The ability to adapt to any situation life or the enemy throws at you?"
"Bingo, life is unpredictable. A forest ranger might find themselves seasick on the ocean and the hardiest sandman could freeze to death in less than a day atop a mountain.
'One of' if not 'the' most important thing anyone has is the skill of Adaptation. To survive whenever, wherever no matter what happens.
I'll give your answer nine out of ten."
Eh?
It thought he said my answer was perfect.
"Didn't you say I got the answer right?"
The moment I question him, my skull starts ringing.
It feels much worse than the memory of when I accidentally stabbed myself in the thigh.
I am in far too much pain to bother recall how Ethan managed to commit such a foolish act.
While I'm reeling from the sudden strike to my noggin, Sir Elios explains why I lost a point, "You were to slow to answer. A moment on the battlefield is the difference between life or death, victory or defeat.
I'm deducting another point for such a thoughtless question."
I shut my mouth, not because of fearing having another
"Welcome to the Gauntlet! Just think of it as a
An abomination of various devilish death machines and traps that make one doubt if this
Saws, spikes, pendulum blades, pitfalls, shaky platforms, bubbling lava lakes, booby traps. The list goes on and on.
A hardcore parkour enthusiast's wet dream.
For me whose idea of adrenaline rush is a simple half hour run in a park (on my life back on earth not Ethan's). This was nightmare
"Welcome to day one of training!
By the end of this week, I expect you to complete this gauntlet completely unscathed!"
"What the heck? I'm supposed to run through fire and blades!?"
"Don't worry if you lose a few limbs, I got potions that'll patch you right up in an instant!"
This crazy mother-
"Consider this your first lesson. In life, nothing is certain!
Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut!
Which is why I'm making you go through countless near-death scenarios."
"What!?! Don't most people say you have to " I yell at his nonsense.
"You think the enemy is going to give you an hour, a chair, some tea and cookies to think about what you should do?
No! They're not going to give you the leisure. Whenever you think you even have a moment to think of a plan, always assume you're dancing in the palm of your enemy!"
Damnit! I hate how he makes a convincing point!
"Now hop to it! Or I'm going to chuck you into one of those pitfalls!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
I sincerely apologize to making fun of countries like South Korea that have mandatory service. You guys have it easy.
A year has gone by since my apprenticeship to Sir Elios.
...
I seriously don't want to talk about my training.
At the same time, I want to complain it out loud.
But the moment I utter a single word, nightmarish memories of my mentor's 'training' worm their way into my skull, eating away at my soul and sanity.
...
Goddamnit! Even thinking about it triggers my PTSD!
Performing balancing acts over pits of fire.
Fasting in a frozen wasteland for a month.
Wrestling dozens of Minotaurs barehanded nonstop.
Just yesterday, he made me fight against a golem handcuffed, blindfolded and earplugged.
Right now, I'm lying on the ground, still recovering from yesterday's injuries.
I hear the footsteps of the old codger approach.
I swear, it better not be something insane like last week where he tossed me into a giant spider lair.
Still,
The footsteps stop
"Alright, you seem like your up to par now. Time to move up "
I turn my head in surprise, "Just like that?"
He shrugs "I suppose? I'm a bit busy for the next few years. So consider it your self-study period."
I jump to my feet, indignant at his irresponsible and lack-luster attitude toward teaching.
This bastard made me go through all sorts of situations for a year and now he suddenly he says he has to
The balls of this man!
Of course, I didn't let out all of my frustrations, that would be a death sentence.
But I did voice out my frustrations, "Next few years!? Why did you even bother taking me on as an apprentice then!?"
The old codger waves off my displeasure, "Don't worry! It's not like I'm going ditch you without giving you a direction.
Follow me."
Over the fleeting hellish year we spent together, I learned it's better not to question him.
I silently follow behind my mentor as we walk somewhere.
Since we're parting, I might as well ask him a question I've had since the beginning when I started to train under him.
"What is this method you use to travel so quickly from place to place? I can't sense a trace of magic."
He gruffly responds, "Family art, can't say much other it has something to do with the Patron God of our kingdom."
Right, of course it's a secret art related to the gods.
Why am I not surprised.
As we walk, something feels different.
That change soon became blatant and obvious.
In the past, we would always travel from remote location to somewhere just as remote.
This time we strolled into a civilization.
Surrounding us on all sides are massive, polished, stone walls and turrets stretching high into the sky.
I ask a second question, seems like all the curiosity I pent up the past year is starting to bubble out, "What!? Where are we!?"
"Just a training field." my mentor nonchalantly responds.
"What sort of training field are we in to have an army of armed guards surround us!"
As I said, all around us we're several different groups of muscular men wielding an assortment of well-maintained steel weapons.
Unperturbed, Sir Elios' yells, "Oi! Malcolm! Get your arse over here!"
Malcolm? Why does that ring a bell?
One of the men, a mustachioed officer in formal uniform carrying a saber, drew and directed it at Sir Elios, "How dare you show up on royal grounds unannounced and demand things from the Royal Guards! Identify yourself at once!"
A voice interrupts out of the blue before things can escalate, "Put down your weapons this instant! Do you know who you're picking a fight with!?"
A middle-aged, blonde, bearded man in white armor with a red sash hurries over.
"My apologies, Sir Elios."
"It's fine, doubt many of them recognize me."
"Still, this is an utter disgrace. For them to point a sword at one of our countries greatest warriors. If there is anything you request, I'll do my best to fulfill it."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes, I swear it upon the Ravald house's name."
"Anything."
Sir Elios wastes no time and gives my shoulder a hard pat.
Sheesh, a year of hell and building up pain tolerance means nothing before this guy.
That absolutely hurt. Thank goodness it's not my right arm, don't know how I'd write a letter to my parents after cutting off communication with the outside world for so long.
Ignoring my pain and thoughts, the old veteran makes his demand, "Make this guy part of the next batch of recruits."
"Umm, people might complain." Malcolm saus re
"Court's still playing favorites, eh?"
"I've been doing my best to recruit talents from the commonfolk as well."
"Bastards never learn. Well, if this kingdom falls to ruin, so be it."
"Master! Please! Even if-."
Sir Elios' rolls his eyes, "Yeah! Yeah! The country won't take to kindly to my words. Well, what are they going to do? Toss me into a dungeon!? I'd like to see them try!"
"But-!"
"Anyways, I'm leaving, don't forget how much you owe me, see you."
Without looking back, he walks away.
Just like a year ago on that balcony, all he did was leisurely walk in a straight line.
No magic, no incantations, hand signs, use of an artefact. Nothing.
All he did is walk.
And that's enough for us to lose track of him in less than a few moments.
I turn to ask the guy Sir Elios left me in the care of, "Is he always like that?"
"Pretty much, does he still make you go through all sorts of nonsensical training like making you swim in lava?"
"Yes."
Malcolm gives me a look full of sympathy and pats me on the shoulder.
Thankfully he doesn't exert as much force as Sir Elios does.
"Don't worry kid, my training will be harsh, but it'll be considerably easier than that old man's."
For a guy in his late forties to call my mentor an old man, how old is Sir Elios exactly?
He's supposed to be a famous figure, but I hardly know him in the game.
Well... a portion of that is my fault since I'm not very invested lore wise. I'm more into social, combat and resource accumulation aspects of the game.
If the subject were a woman, I'd dare not ask, since it's a man, I boldly pry, "How old is he?"
"He's been around for as long as I can remember.
"Alright! What are you louts staring at!? Get back to work! Or I'm extending today's regime by three hours!"
The men hurry back to conducting their exercises, seeing such a pathetic sight, I have half the mind to give them a taste of what I went through.
"So, what's your name?"
I turn to Sir Malcolm, "Ethan, Ethan Halagad."
"Well, Ethan, it might take a while for me to convince the stubborn codgers at the top, but for now, consider yourself a provisionary member of our little circus."
"So I'm in the military now?"
"Military?" he lets out a laugh, "Guess the old codger didn't tell you what you're supposed to be doing, eh?"
"Nope."
Sir Malcolm chuckles, "Let's just say we're an elite group."
Ah, so we're basically something like shock troopers or marines.
"So what happens now?"
"This might be a little insensitive of me to ask, but what's your family background?"
"I'm the only son of the Halagad Knight family."
"Halagad? Been a while since I heard that name, how's your old man doing?"
I raise my eyebrows in surprise, "You know my father, sir?"
"Back in the war with the Frun Kingdom, he served under my leadership. Pretty fierce fighter if I recall. Surprised he's still just a knight."
Hold up, was this the guy that gave my father the Solyvr party invitation!?
"By any chance, did you send a Solyvr party invitation to my father a year ago?"
"I did. Why do you ask?"
"My father was very happy when he received your invitation. I'm not sure how he's doing nowadays since I haven't seen him in over a year."
"I see, I'll be sure to send word to him of your arrival at the capital, unless you wish to do so yourself?"
Something felt off about Malcolm Sr. words, but I let it slide.
"Yes, I'd like to inform him myself of my situation, it's far too long since we had contact."
He nods, "Alright, although you're a provisional member, welcome to the Royal Guard."
Hunh?
The Royal Guard?
...
Fuc-