During the high school time my days were filled with classes, home works and part time jobs. So I didn't have time for a hobby. One day co-worker of my part time job had left behind a novel. That book was 'Rise of the heroes.' At first I read it just to pass time. But soon I got addicted to it . I even bought all six volumes of the series from my hardly saved money.
Rise of the heroes
Kael Caelum was the main character of 'Rise of the heroes '. He was the son of duke Caelum, born into privilege but he was not arrogant. A boy with a blonde hair and golden eyes, just like his father. He lived happily with his family until they were attacked by dark mage association called, 'Shadow'. His parents were killed by them when he was only 8 years old.That moment shattered his world. But Keal didn't cry. He didn't wallow. He became stronger. Not instantly, not without struggle, but with determination that burned like iron in a forge. He trained harder than anyone at Greatark Academy, the elite school where warriors were trained. He didn't care about status or popularity. He wanted to protect others from Shadow association and eradicate them. He worked so hard to do that. He teamed up with his friends and fought against the evil association.
Maybe that's why I liked him so much. He wasn't flashy. Eventhough he wasn't invincible, He did his best to fight and win. Reading his story and his growth made me happy and courageous. This book gave me the motivation to survive through hard times.
The story unfolded across six volumes. Six beautifully written, emotionally devastating books.
I read all first five books just in a month. That alone showed how much I was engrossed into the book series. But the final volume made my heart break. Not because it was poorly written. On the contrary, it was masterfully done.
In the final battle, Keal was able to stop the dark mage association, Shadow. But at a terrible cost. Keal's friends sacrificed their lives to destroy dark mages and Kael was left alone again, walking away from the ruins of their victory, sword dragging behind him.
It broke me. I had hoped for something different. I wanted a reward for all their pain, for their friendship, for the years of fighting. I wanted a happy ending. But 'Rise of the heroes 'was not a fairytale with a happy ending.
After I finished reading that, I couldn't bring myself to pick up another novel.But I never forgot Keal. I never forgot the moments when he stood up after being knocked down, or the quiet way he protected his friends.
'Here now I am seeing the same Keal in front of me' My mind was blank at the moment. I couldn't think any thing else as I was watching Kael. After an unknown time period Kael got out of the fighting ring after winning his match.
"Adrian did you see that. Keal won the match." Rowen's shouting bought me back from my dazed state.
"I need to go to the washroom." I dashed away from everyone without even watching back.
"..But that's not the way to the washroom." I heard Rowen muttering but I ignored him and ran away. I needed a quite place to calm down.
I ran past many buildings until I found a garden. I plopped down on the ground. Everything happened from the moment I woke up flashed through my mind. The fact that I'm inside a novel started to panic me.
' I'm inside a novel. What do I do now?' I had no idea as for how I came into this world.
' So how do I go back. Most importantly will I ever be able to go back.' Thousands of problems were filling my mind as I tried my best to stay calm. On the bright side this was only the beginning of the story. So there's no extremely dangerous situations yet.
'Academy must be safe for the time being.'I felt like my mind was melting from thinking so much.
"Haaaa...Let's not think too much"
Thinking too much only worsen the situation.
'It's not like I have a family waiting for me to come back. I don't even have much friends. Even if I can't go back, it doesn't matter much. So, I can skip worrying about finding a way to go back for later.'
'Most important thing is survival. I got admitted to Greatark Academy which meant that I have potential to become a warrior. Greatark Academy is the best Academy in the Norva empire. So even if I don't know anything, I will probably be able to learn something to protect myself. ' I felt relieved thinking that.
'So do I have magic too. May be I will be able to form fire balls like Riana.' I soon got to know that I became overly excited for nothing. As I remembered there was something called mana that allowed mages to do magic. They controlled mana and converted it to magic. I didn't even feel the presence of mana. So it seemed like I still had a long way to go.
'May be I should ask someone later. Rowen is there too. Even if he is a noisy guy, he probably know better than me. That's for sure.'
'Oh... I left the class before it was finished. Am I going to be punished because of that. That's going to be the second punishment for today'
I stood up to go back to the training ground. Only to realize that I might not be able to go back for a long time. I didn't know the way back. I just came here without even memorising the way.
'Who bothers to remember where they are going when panicked. Not me. It's extremely normal. So it's not my fault.'
I had to go back anyway. So I roamed around trying to find a way. But nothing seemed to lead me back.
"Haaaa... Today really is the worst day of my life." I sighed while still trying to find my way.
"Why is it the worst day?" I heard a voice inquiring me.