Alright, let me be clear on this before I proceed. For 35 years, I've been in this world, and there had only been a very specific type of magic that existed in this world. Unfortunately, we do not have teleportation, fireball, or great spiral ball-type magic. There are a few exceptions to this, however, but you will find out more as we delve deeper into the story. What we have are fortification magic or 'enhancements' as we call it. We can strengthen physical items that we wield or our body directly. However, what I can tell you is that despite living here for 35 years, we had barely scratched the surface on what this world has to offer. All around the world, there are plentiful hidden treasures or secrets awaiting someone to discover. So, my dear daughter, your adventure is definitely going to be different than what I had experienced. And I can't wait to hear about them when it is your time to venture out on your own adventure.
I awoke from the call of the jikentette. They usually make their cockle right before dawn. I sat up from my futon and yawned. Rubbing my eyes, I was surprised to see grandfather already sitting by the main sliding door entrance. He was wearing a different type of dougi from the usual one he always wore. This looked more suited for combat and mobility. He even had his katana tied to his hip at the ready.
"Freshen yourself, boy, we will be heading out soon. Some considerable distance to cover today," he said.
I obliged and proceeded to splash my face with cold water from the well. Believe me when I tell you that cold water freshens you up in a completely different manner compared to the hot showers that you people take. I got ready and tied my wooden sword to my hip and proceeded to the main entrance.
"Ready? Let's go; we'll have our meal when we reach our first stop," said grandfather as he stood up. I just nodded and tagged along without question. When grandfather is this serious, all I have to do is follow his lead.
We reached the first stop when the sun was up. There was a fork on the road that led to different paths. A wooden arrow signboard pointed the way to different locations. The arrow pointing straight ahead is written "City Of Pines" on it. That is where I will be heading next year. I hope I can reach the city walls before winter approaches. The other two arrows were written "Gosling's Farm" while the other was "Forbidden Forest" with the word "DANGEROUS! DO NOT APPROACH!" scratched hastily at the bottom.
Woah, hold up. Isn't that… the direction where we came from? We had been living in the forbidden forest all these while?! Is the forest itself dangerous or is it because of grandfather? Or can it be that grandfather scratched those words himself? As I pondered on those thoughts, grandfather made a gesture for us to stop.
"Let's take a break and have our breakfast here. Into the shade, boy," he said as he pointed towards the shadows beneath some trees by the side of the road. Both of us sat under the cooling shade when he took out some bamboo leaves for wrapping. He unwrapped to reveal some onigiri inside.
"Wow, you usually hate wrapping these," I muttered to him as I reached out to grab one.
"Take two and leave the rest for our journey back," he told me as he took out his own onigiri wrapping and began eating.
"May I ask where we are going, Ojii-san?" I braved the question, knowing that I might not get an answer.
"We are going to a field in the direction of the city. There is a monster hunting quest that was requested of me to eliminate," he smiled.
"Monster hunting? What about the adventurers or soldiers from the city? And the guild members?" I asked with a bemused look.
Odd that grandfather has to dispose of this monster himself. What is the purpose of soldiers or adventurers if they would require a frail old man to fight? He is in his eighties right now.
"Ah, you see, this monster in particular is exceptionally dangerous. Common soldiers or adventurers have a hard time defeating it without the help of perhaps an army of a thousand men. And that is if you managed to pierce through its thick hide in the first place," he explained with a sarcastic face while stroking his chin.
I gave him a blank expression. Is he messing with me or something? What he is saying sounded like some fairy tale or some made-up nonsense to impress or scare a ten-year-old boy. Either way, I will know all about it by the end of the day. If it's some damn slime or snail monster, then I am going to give a surprise smack to him.
We departed towards the direction of the city and reached our destination probably about late noon. The sun was high up in the sky at this point. We stood at the side of a cliff overlooking an open field filled with tall grasses that had white tips. I just love the grass smell and the way it moves when soft wind blows against it really calms the soul. A part of me wishes to say the words "Winds Howling" if it weren't for a giant monster fighting with soldiers in the middle of the field right now!
Let me make things clear. A creature with four legs, wings, and a majestic head is what you call a dragon. A two-legged lizard creature with claws at the tip of the wings is what you call a wyvern or some other lizard creatures. There is no two-way about it, this is certainly a dragon! But damn is it beautiful to look at. With green scales that grew evenly across its body, to its hide that looked as though it could withstand just about anything without a scratch, everything about this mythical being is just alluring to look at.
The soldiers fighting the dragon were definitely struggling to get their bearings together. Some were trying their best to keep the dragon distracted while they had portable cannons firing at it. I counted about ten cannons based on the wreckage but only three remained, for now.
"FIRE!" shouted the soldier in command. The cannons hit the dragon dead-on. Yet all it did was push the dragon backward before it rushed forward to destroy the cannons.
BOOM!
Well, there goes all the last remaining cannons with a swipe of its tail. The dragon looked unscathed whatsoever despite those cannon balls hitting the dragon's body. Talk about insane durability to be able to tank cannon shots as though it is nothing. And they are expecting Grandfather to fight this dragon?! I mean, sure, I know Grandfather is strong and all, but still, this is a freaking dragon we are talking about here.
"Stay right here, boy. Under no circumstances should you move from this spot. Is that clear?" Grandfather asked with a stern look.
"Sir, yes, sir!" I replied with a salute.
"Keep your eyes open and see the world that you are about to venture into. The world is filled with plenty of mysteries and adventures awaiting you to discover. I have the utmost faith that you will make a name for yourself one day. You are his son after all," he smiled warmly at me and leaped off the cliff where we were standing.
"Wha..?" I couldn't even finish my sentence as I was surprised that Grandfather leaped from here.
The cliff where we stood was at least 30 metres in height, and he just leaped down from here?! He descended rapidly and made a roll upon reaching the ground while using his right hand to stop his forward momentum. Was that a superhero landing? This frail old man literally jumped off a cliff as though it was nothing, and here I am at the age of 35 with random aches all over my body just because I stretched too hard.
He rushed towards the dragon while gripping his scabbard at his hip. From where I stood, it's about 500 metres from where the dragon is located. He reached close to the dragon and began shouting to the soldiers to move back. All the soldiers retreated immediately upon spotting him. Many were limping, while some were just lying flat on the ground. I guess it's the afterlife for those that couldn't make it.
Alright, what comes next is probably one of the most badass scenes to ever spawn. Keep in mind this is an old man fighting a bloody dragon. Not some 1,000-year-old Shinigami with plenty of fighting experience.
The dragon took a look at my grandfather and tilted its head. Probably wondering why an old man was here in the first place. Grandfather began exhaling and unsheathed his katana. The dragon immediately crouched low, baring its fangs at him as though it knew about the imminent threat that was to come. This dragon casually fought off a hundred soldiers armed with cannons, and yet it took grandfather seriously?
Grandfather held up his katana one-handed above his head horizontally. Just a heartbeat later, a blinding yellow flash shone from his katana. Did grandfather use the reflection of the sun to create that flash? All I know is that even from where I was standing, I had to squint my eyes. The soldiers who were closer to grandfather were definitely blinded, and so did the dragon. Grandfather had vanished by the time the flash ended, and streaks of blood flew up in the air.
I panicked. Was grandfather squashed beneath one of the dragon's huge front legs? To my relief, the blood was from the dragon as it had its underbelly sliced. The dragon started to panic and spread its wings in an attempt to fly, but another heartbeat later, there goes the left wing. It was sliced cleanly with a searing mark along its wound, with steam rising from it. It looked as though the dragon was being cooked alive. I couldn't see grandfather amidst the chaos. The dragon panicked even more as it started thrashing its tail and legs in an attempt to kill grandfather. More blood was spilling from the dragon as time passed. It took ten heartbeats. Just ten, and the dragon was dead on the ground.
Grandfather stood atop the dragon. Such a magnificent scene with the sun shining on his bald head, reflecting back to its owner. The dragon's body started disintegrating and it seemed as though the dragon's very soul was being absorbed by Grandfather. Any moment now and I can see him screaming at the top of his lungs with a "FUS RO DAH!".
I snapped out of my imagination. What the hell was I dreaming about? My imagination went wild for a moment there. You cannot blame me for going crazy when I am just a ten-year-old boy and your senile grandfather single-handedly decimated a dragon with just a katana.
He hopped down from the dragon and gestured for me to come over with a hand wave. I had to look for an alternate route to descend the cliff. No way am I jumping down from here, I am certain I would not survive the fall if I did.
I ran over as fast as I could with my little legs and I eventually reached the carcass of the dragon. The soldiers were in awe at the sight of the dead dragon and, of course, my grandfather who had slain it. Many of the soldiers bowed in respect while the one in command kowtowed to my grandfather, repeating the words "Thank you for saving my men. Thank you so much". Even I bowed to my grandfather as a sign of respect.
"Ojii-san, never will I look at you the same way ever again. You have my utmost respect," I bowed to him.
"Ah, it was nothing. It was just a green dragon after all, which was the weakest of its kind. That letter had me worried when the type wasn't mentioned. I am certain you will be able to kill one on your own someday. I have my faith in that," he smiled with a warm expression.
You put way too much faith into this ten-year-old boy, grandfather. But I had realised that on this day how weak I am in this world. I will really need to get much, MUCH stronger if I were to stay alive and not end up as dragon poop. Only a year left of training with grandfather before I am to leave and travel to the city alone and, hopefully, join a guild.
Will I die before reaching the city? Will there be other dragons that I will meet along the way? I shudder to think of such possibilities.
"Let us head home, boy. The soldiers will handle the dragon's corpse from here," said grandfather.
"Isn't a dragon's body valuable? I am certain every part is worth a lot. Isn't the fangs being used for weapons while the hides for armour?" I questioned grandfather as he was not bothered with collecting anything, not even a trophy for all of his hard work that he had just done. It was as if he was giving away free money while we ended up drinking soups or stews all the time.
"The soldiers are aware of who I am, boy. They will be informing the collectors to deposit the funds into my account. There is nothing to worry about. I am certain the soldiers are aware of who called for me to help out. Certainly they won't be foolish enough to steal anything. Am I right, lads?" he asked while turning his head towards the soldiers.
The soldier in command rushed and kowtowed in front of the grandfather.
"I swear on my life that we will not be doing anything illegal! You had saved us from certain death! If any of my subordinates steal anything, I will personally execute them and prostrate myself in front of you, offering my life!" the soldier shouted, with sweat streaking down his forehead.
"See? Nothing to worry about. Let's go home, boy," uttered Grandfather with a soft tone as he gestured for me to follow him.
I nodded and followed after him as we began our journey back to the forbidden forest.
"Ojii-san, when we reach home, can you train me on how to survive? I do not know how much I can learn in a year's time, and I am worried that I might not make it," I asked him with a shivering voice.
"What do you mean, boy? I had been teaching you how to survive for the past few years. Did you really think the training I had been giving you was something a ten-year-old should be learning? But if you are so inclined, I will be giving a more intense training for the remaining year. You better not regret it, boy," he smirked.
"I am ready, Ojii-san. Please continue teaching me," I bowed to him. I mean, I have to be ready. The world is not going to wait for just one boy to be ready. Hence, began my insane training for an entire year. Did I regret making that request? Maybe a tad bit.
***
"Alright, my little pumpkin, time for breakfast before your mum starts nagging us," I said to my daughter, who was completely drawn into my story.
Not really sure why a young girl like her would be so keen to listen to her father's story. I bet it is my wife's tactic to keep her busy so she doesn't disturb her from her daily chores. Hey, I do not mind helping out with parenting in any way, shape, or form possible. Which husband would rather see their wife's angry or sad face than to help out? I had seen it too many times, and I do not wish to see more of it.
We headed back in. The smell of fresh bread and soup was permeating throughout the living room. Sadly, this world does not have rice to enjoy with a main dish. Rice in this world is usually hard and crunchy compared to the soft and fluffy ones that you eat. We usually use it as a side dish or garnish as it just does not fit into any normal meal.
I reheated the kettle by the fireplace, making sure there is sufficient water for the three of us. I headed into the kitchen, making sure that my daughter was seated at the dining table. Peeking into the wet kitchen, ah, there she is, my lovely wife.
Too bad all you could see is only her silhouette. Where is the fun in giving away the surprise this early? I gave her a peck on the cheek and carried the tray of food that she had prepared to the dining table. I set the dishes while we waited for her to be seated. No one eats until everyone is at the table, a rule that I decided to implement out of courtesy for my wife.
We made a couple of small talks while we ate. Mostly about topics like the weather, any upcoming quests by the guild, or what supplies we need for the coming months. Obviously, my daughter is disinterested in these topics, all the while nudging me to continue with the story. I told her that I would only continue after we had finished breakfast and after she finishes her homework.
Indeed, we have schools now. While it is not purely educational, it focuses on real-world skills in both theoretical and practical lessons. And of course, swordsmanship is included. I figured that it would be beneficial for her to learn things that neither my wife nor I were proficient in. But being in school meant that she could socialise with other children as well.
***
Evening approaches. My wife and I had finished our daily sword practice and were busy preparing for dinner. Life these days is certainly much more relaxing compared to my younger days. It used to be quests after quests to earn money or fulfil the weekly quota. Nowadays, the quests given to me are relatively special but difficult. I had already acquired the highest rank possible just below the guildmaster as there can only be one Lord. My wife is obviously the same rank as me too, but she barely accepts any quests nowadays. She has chosen to care of our daughter exclusively. But she never neglects her own training. I trust that she is still powerful enough to whoop my ass should she wish.
I do my part in taking care of my family, but being the head of the household, you just have to provide for the family. We finished dinner, and as usual, I spend quality time with my daughter. It used to be playing some games with her, but she insisted on hearing the rest of the story. This is way before bedtime, but since there are barely any entertainments aside from books or toys, stories are the next best thing that we have. Watching fire twirling around the fireplace can only get so entertaining for the first few seconds. And so, I sat my daughter on our wooden couch with cushions made of dockette feathers and proceeded with my story.