My journey continues with me deep in my thoughts. I’m not brave enough to fly that high again, whatever hit me that hard doesn’t want me there. I shiver from the thought that I’m just a mere ant for someone or something else.

This also made me realise that no matter how powerful I feel there will be others as strong or stronger than me. These bandits were weak but soldiers on the level of the bandit leader would kill me easily. And that’s the best they can do to me. I can fight on my demonic instincts but an experienced mercenary would cut me by himself.

So I have to get stronger. How do I get stronger? Kill and eat. But that only gives me raw strength and better control of my body. I mean agility. This sounds stupid if you ask me. What I need is experience. No, not that kind of experience. So… What do I do? Of course fight monsters and bandits on the way.

No, this is pretty simple and boring. I fly, I see something, I drop next to it be it monster or bandit, I tell to run or attack me. None of them run. Perfect training method. I’m not cruel, I try to not hurt the innocent.

The fights are all boring. Letting them attack and I evade, deflect or block them. If they run out of stamina or I get bored, I kill them and eat them. At first I had problems with longer weapons because their ends are often three times faster than their user’s hands. Still, after playing around, I finished them with minimal pain. I admit that I’m playing around, even if it’s training. Since I’m so bored I enjoy these times.

Humas are weak but a few talented individuals manage to be my opponent, giving me some real experience. Magical beast (that are not cute) are killed off quickly because there is too much of a gap. For a humas they are strong but for me they are small foxes at best. It hurts when they bite but unless you let them they can’t really kill you.

Monster are… different. They run away when they see me. A few stronger stay but don’t put up much of a fight. This is probably because I’m near a large city, Saint. Oh, yes I passed by many towns but I learned that demons should stay away from them in the empire in the hard way. Not that it matters, I have food, water and a comb. Everything I’m in need of. Yeah, I just love my comb. I decorated it a little. A basic carving of a cute little dragon that makes my mood better.

This how these annoying days go by. Repeating these actions for more than a week I arrive at the border of the beast country. I could just fly past but since there is a trading city here that does not kill demons on sight, I feel that I should check in. The loneliness takes quite a toll on me.

I decide to land a few kilometers away and approach on foot. Don’t want to be mistaken as a dangerous monster. The irony is strong with this one.

As I calmly walk towards the gates I see two fox-tribe beastmen on guard. There are also others’ presence in the vicinity, it’s probably the guard station. Walking in between them they look at me suspiciously but don’t stop me. Yay! I’m so happy that someone ignored me. This sounds crazy but this is the first time.

Oh! I get it! This is the outer section. The city is huge, I mean HUGE. There should be at least 40 thousand people living here not counting the many traders, passerbies, mercenaries, travellers and others! This outer sector consists nothing but a few basic shops to drop off or buy things you don’t want to go in the city for. After questioning a trader whom I sold some good quality furs and what I obtained from bandits I was told I should register in a guild for easy pass to the inner city. I’ll still have to pay but less and I get quicker inspection.

I feel rich.

With my new wealth and knowledge, I head to the mercenary guild. There is no adventurer guild in this world for my sorry ass. Well, it’s the same anyways. The building is a two storey stone building, it’s not surprising. Walking in I see that this is a large hall with boards all around. Many eyes stare at me, this time not because I’m a demon but because I’m a woman. Yes, it’s annoying, there are zero other woman mercenaries in the hall.

They not seem that strong, but they are probably ex-soldiers or martial artists. This is not an easy business afterall. In my estimation the strongest is twice the bandit leader’s strength, but possesses much better technique. His stance only is enough to give away that every muscle in his body is ready to fight anytime.

With no better to do I walk to the counter and speak to the assistant.

(assistant) “How can I help you?”

“I would like to register and take the test.”

(assistant) “Just a moment.” He turns away and walks to a drawer. Taking a few papers he comes back and puts it in front of me.

(assistant) “Please fill out these informations about you. You don’t need to use your real name, nickname will suffice. The name is the only must. The register cost five Nekota Silvers. If you need help or want to ask anything, please don’t hesitate.”

Quite the professional worker. Well, I would be nervous in front of a demon. I put the money on the table and write my name on the paper. It’s Red, of course.

I’m lead to a small training area to take my test. A hired instructor will test me.

Standing in front of him with a small iron sword I kept from the bandits, I don’t feel anything from him. I mean he’s a tough looking man in his 40’s end. He seems weak yet my senses are telling me that he is dangerous. It’s obvious that as an instructor employed by a guild he’s strong, but this much?

As the assistants yells to start, a small audience from the free mercenaries begin cheering aloud.

I lift my sword to prepare an attack, but I’m more used to using my hands. I can use them but that would be a huge disadvantage. I step hard on the ground a propel myself forward at an inhuman speed. With a diagonal slash I try to hit his armored chest, but I’m easily parried. From the huge force I only able to stop a few meters away, but I already hear the sound of a sword heading towards my neck.

Are you aiming to kill me old man? Let’s play that game then. I pull my head down and sweep-kick without turning back, hitting his leg that was aimed at my new position.

So he assumed that I’ll evade and attacked there. Nice one.

With his leg hit hard I hear a small crack, but he does not stop. Me neither. From the low stance I jump towards him with and swing a wide arc. He stops his attack to deflect mine, but realising my intentions of overpowering him, he jumps backwards.

Great! He knew it would break his arm and retaliated. But I predicted that. I let go of my sword that embeds itself in the ground and using that force I push my hands to grab his sword wielding arm. With a simple judo move I trash him on the ground, not letting him move.

I won the fight, but I’m not satisfied.

“Again, old bastard, but don’t dare to hold back. I enjoy fighting but hate when they look down on me”

I let go of him angrily but he is grinning like a madman.

(Instructor) “You’re right, I’m sorry. I fought on the level of a golden rank, I did not expect you to be this fun. What a strange finishing move.”

That judo move is something I was taught on a P.E. lesson though. I walk to my sword and grab it when feel immerse pressure. Before I could pull it out, I have to jump away from a quick trust towards my back. The bastard old man is grinning and attacking not giving me a chance. Without my sword to fight, I’m pushed back to the wall. Yeah, I can regrow a hand or two but I don’t like being chopped into small parts. I let out a small comment accidentally. “Crazy old man.”

When I run out of space I take my chances with a trick since I have no chance to defeat him head on. I use feint kick and follow with a full arm attack at large velocity. He sees through that with no problem, but that’s only stage one. Not caring about cutting my arm off, he swings at it. I bend my arms so the sword hits on a small angle, what cuts the flesh down without breaking my bone.

Losing the strength in it and fail to grab his sword, what my plan originally was. I jump back and he comes even closer, pushing my back directly to the wall. With me cornered he swings carefully to not let me escape.

I get a new idea and turn my back to him, which surprises everyone in the room. I jump towards the wall, pushing my foot into it I kick myself high in the air. My wing are useless here so I don’t use them. Leaping over him I manage to land next to my sword and pull it out instantly, ready for the next round.

-----------------------------

Map:

Spoiler :

Emblem on her comb (what I draw during lessons):

Spoiler : Advertisement Support "She, the one (old)" PayPal Patreon Previous

Chapter Fiction

Index Next

Chapter RSS About the author 8 Fictions 58 Posts 2 Threads alicornfater Follow Author Thursday, February 11, 2016 5:49:16 PM Wednesday, February 17, 2016 8:08:37 PM Hungary Soon Gone http://alicorn.wix.com/alicornscorner

Bio: Jack-of-all-trades artist, meaning I tried everything from drawing to writing, and failed miserably.

I humbly aim to save others' life, as mine can't be.

Achievements Comments(6) Set Compact Log in to comment

Log In Load Comments Please enable JavaScript to load the comments! Log in to comment

Log In Settings Theme (Entire Website) Dark Light Dim background 0% 20% 40% 50% 60% 80% 100% Font Size 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 24 28 32 Reader Width Max 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% Font Family Default ————— Open Dyslexic Atkinson Hyperlegible ————— Arial Roboto Open Sans OS Default Comic Sans Lucida Verdana Ubuntu Ubuntu Condensed Franklin Gothic Garamond Caslon Minion Font Color Indent Color Scheme Theme Default OLED Black Royal Road Dark Dark Gray Gray Light Gray Sepia White Paragraph Spacing Close × Give Reputation to User: Points You can specify how many points you want to give (minimum: 0, maximum: 0). Comment (optional) Why are you giving this user reputation? Give Reputation Close About

Royal Road® is the home of web novels and fan fictions! In our amazing community, you can find various talented individuals who write as a hobby or even professionally, artists who create art for them, and many, many readers who provide valuable feedback and encouragement.

Amazon Affiliate Royal Road® is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Theme Select Dark Light

Follow Us On Need some help? Create a support ticket

Contact Contact Us by Email

Advertising Ads for Authors

Programmatic Advertising Royal Road® © 2013-2022 Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Blog | Status Tap again to scroll to the top!