Free Web NovelChapter 18: The nightmare that doesn’t end
The Sungrade estate holds a pivotal position in the city of Oren, the First line of defense to the eastern forest of the demons.
The castle situated in the center of this city embraces not only those born of the Sungrade, but also those who had proven themselves to be of value to the family, as well as the empire.
The core Sungrade members, including the patriarch and his mistresses, are only a portion of the individuals that live inside this castle’s highest towers.
Located in the heart of the city, this precious establishment is also a key facility where the family teaches, nurtures, and guides the younger generation.
Additionally, there are training facilities, research labs for various professions, and training centers run by the people that families have recruited from all around the world.
In one of such training facilities for the younger generations, in an arena filled with tens of children and beast tamer guides, a battle was taking place right now.
-Oooooooooooooooong!
A child with light brown hair, holding a small wand with glowing red light, was standing against a girl with dark green hair standing right behind a creature that resembled a hound.
"Gurrrrr!"
The hound’s wood-like body was covered in leaves and flowers as he bore his teeth at the boy that stood with a wand containing a spirit.
-Ooooooooooooooong!
When the boy evoked the power of the spirit and summed a sphere of fire on the tip of his wand, the girl called out to her beast and summoned pillars of wood from the ground.
"Haaa!"
"Take this!"
The wooden pillars, densely summoned in a cubic row, were enough to block the initial barrage of the flames.
However, the flames summoned from the wand were not the only thing that the opponent needed to worry about.
"Now!"
While the girl was busy blocking the attacks from the front, a few particles of red had gathered behind the girl.
"...!"
At the boy’s command, the particles condensed, and a spell circle that was cast from a distance away was used.
-Bang!
-Boooooooooooom!
The spell shot out a blast of flames that, while just a few inches away from the girl, exploded because of a gust of wind that protected her from the attack.
"Good work, you two. The winner is Jamen Killian."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The crowd of children exploded with cheers for the winner. Even the girl that had lost the match was smiling bitterly, knowing well she didn’t really stand a chance against the opponent.
"Good one, Master Jamen." She walked up to him and thanked him for the match. However, he only nodded at her, turning his head away at the very back of this arena.
His eyes found the one he thought of as his true opponent, the pureblood of the Sungrade, the one he had wanted to fight for so long.
"Good work." He thanked her and walked out of the arena.
After waiting for months for this one chance to duel with anyone they wanted, after all the preparations that were already completed, he was ready to fight the young prodigy.
Ablegod of Sungrade, the younger brother of the Lady of Bloom.
The one that had just won against the girl could not take his eyes away from the boy sitting at the distance, lost in his thoughts.
He announced that he would not be fighting due to personal reasons, but it wasn’t just an excuse. As someone who had seen and acknowledged the abilities of that person, he could tell something was indeed wrong with him.
He was absent minded, staring down as if he had the weight of the entire world haunting him.
On certain occasions, he would have a strange, grim look on his face.
From what the mage boy had deciphered, Able had been through something traumatic and was still recovering from it.
"Hello, Sir Able." He couldn’t contain his worries and questions, so he just approached the boy and stood right before him.
Able was strong. Both of them had a great affinity with fire elements but he was more talented with spirits.
Able’s powerful fire-element beasts would put up a good fight against his spirit, but he knew he might not win if Able were to use more than one of his tamed beasts.
But in a fight of equal numbers, Able would still be a possible opponent... or at least that’s what they were going to find out through today’s battle.
"Ah... Jamen." Sadly, it did not seem like Able had any will to fight anyone right now.
The bitter, sad, defeated, and somewhat horrified look on him was concerning, but the dark circles under the boy’s eyes were even more of a concerning factor.
"Did you not sleep well, young master?" He addressed him politely, and watched as the battles resumed in the arena behind them.
In a couple of days, the Proof of Worth would take place. Jamen would participate in it as an outsider that the Sungrade family was nurturing, and he knew he would do well so he wasn’t worried about it.
On the other hand, Able was already acknowledged as one of the true heirs to the Sungrade’s title.
He was a noble while Jamen was merely from a good family. They were different, but at the same time, they were not strangers to each other but someone who had learned and grown up together.
However, the simple question made the noble boy pause for a moment.
"Yes..."
Able was made to recall the nightmare that he had been having these past few days.
He knew what he experienced in the 6th cradle was some kind of illusion that Prism created but it was as real as breathing or drinking water.
Every time he tried sleeping, he would be reminded of the dead bodies of the people that he had trusted for a job.
He’d see the unfathomable creatures that did not make any sense to him.
Every dark corner of reality made him think about the countless eyes and teeth that smirked at him from the darkness.
His very life had become a living nightmare...
"I’m having difficulty sleeping." However there was a smile on his face as he answered the simple yet important question.
"It feels like I’m facing a crucial wall right now. Sleeping has become difficult."
The constant nightmare of his mind, which had first scared him to death, was now an opportunity for growth.
He used every bit of the fear he felt to train his mind, his heart, his strategies.
If something was monstrously impossible to defeat, he was finding a way to run away from it.
If his existing skills did not work against beings like that, he was going to make skills that do help against dangers of unimaginable levels.
"Ah..."
Seeing that smile made James realise something: the opponent that looked scared did not fight him because he was unwell.
Instead, he was approaching some kind of enlightenment.
The time that he spent staring at the empty space was spent in a series of contemplations.
Right now... he was training.
"I apologize for disturbing you then, Sir Able."
The deep look of excitement that he saw in his opponent’s eyes ignited a fire in his heart as well.
He walked back, anticipating a duel like no other he had fought before when the time came.
’He’s amazing.’
He looked up to the noble boy.
And the noble boy that he was admiring, smiled at the dependable back of the young man that he, too, looked up to for his skills and spirit.
’I apologize, Jamen.’
While the boy wanted to fight him again, the young noble had made someone else his new goal in life.
He, too, wanted to defeat someone.
Just like the boy boiling with a fighting spirit, after a lifetime, he also had an opponent he needed to defeat.
So...
"Huuuuuuu."
He closed his eyes once again.
And went back to the horrors that were haunting him every second of his existence.
