The day came when Kyrion was tasked with entering the Forest of Purity with nothing but his heavy staff and a paring knife.

“Not even a steak knife….” Tiffany muttered.

“He shouldn’t need it. Its to take the core from the lotus.” Gamodren said plainly.

“Why can’t I go in?” Tiffany asked.

“Why don’t you try?” Gamodren grinned.

Tiffany did and ran straight into an invisible force that pushed her back twenty feet.

“Oww.” Tiffany rubbed her face.

“What sins are you hiding Tiffany?” Gamodren laughed.

“I don’t see you trying to enter.” She glared at him.

“Oh that’s because I know I’m not pure. Age does things to people. In my humble opinion, what this forest, considered pure is a bit distorted.” Gamodren crossed his arms.

“Why am I the only one allowed in? What standards does it even measure? My shenanigans have caused many of problems.” Kyrion said as though he wanted to not be able to enter.

“Literal innocence, the easy way to get in is to not have entered puberty meaning certain thoughts and actions are yet to slip through your mind.”

“He’s that tall and hasn’t even started his growth spurt yet? Wait why can’t Ceres go through then she seems innocent?”

Ceres also rammed straight into the invisible wall; however, she was sent back thirty feet as though it tried harder.

“Dragons have been barred from entry longer than humans. They’re a bit too destructive.” Gamodren stated.

Ceres stood up, dusted herself off, and approached Gamodren. Planting an armored fist to his gut, sending the man flying back thirty feet into the brush behind him.

“I didn’t hit him that hard. You could have warned me sooner!” Ceres said, confused as it was meant to be a nice punch.

“Well then. I’ll see you later.” Kyrion left his groupmates behind and entered the forest.

The forest was full of life. Small, winged humanoids flew around everywhere like butterflies opening up flowers. The trees were humming while releasing tons of mana. The animals native to the area were peaceful. Not a single predator made this forest its home. Kyrion felt happiness and peace from the environment, the feeling so strong it rubbed off on him. The boy became one with the world around him and easily traversed the wilds.

Kyrion came to a clearing and encountered an injured fawn. He was currently not hunting anything and got the feeling that it would be a bad idea. So he covered its leg with an open palm and began healing the small creature.

It was upon its feet in moments and bowed to the boy before trotting in a different direction.

Where Kyrion traveled, life seemed to flourish as plants became more vibrant and grew in his presence. Like a lord’s presence uplifting and nurturing their citizens.

As he continued down the path, he felt the presence of humanoids slowly begin to surround him, some curious others hostile, which put him on edge. He slowed his pace noticeably, spinning around to catch his assailants in the act.

Kyrion saw a set of trees and bushes that he was pretty sure wasn’t there and decided to turn around, marching at a faster speed.

The sense of someone following him increased as it tried to keep up.

Kyrion stopped again, turning around only to see the same trees and bushes, only there were more now.

Kyrion took off at a full sprint, leaving the creatures behind, and could hear something rustling behind him.

Leaping forward onto a platform of wind and upwards onto a second, he pushed off of it, backflipping over the trees following him, spinning two whole times before he missed the landing a bit. His stomach hit the ground, and he bounced a few times.

“Come on out. I know you’re there!” Kyrion demanded, slowly getting to his feet after the wind was knocked out of him.

The trees and bushes transformed into women covered in leaves, bark, and twigs. Some were big, others were small, and their ages were something he didn’t try to figure out. The thing wasn’t that he had gotten behind them. Instead, they were now surrounding him on all sides.

Kyrion raised his hand and sighed as they seemed to be prepared for a fight. “I mean yall no harm.” Kyrion’s speech slipped up a little.

“What is an outsider like you doing here? Men aren’t allowed here.” Asked one of the creatures Kyrion thought may be of the younger variety.

“I’m not a man.” Kyrion sighed, hating having to explain his height.

“You clearly aren’t a woman!” Another said, pointing at his muscles.

“He could be an amazon.” Said one of the creatures.

“The amazon’s were wiped out years ago. Human war and such.” Said a more mature one

“He could be a decedent?”

“Possibly. I’m a boy, though a young one.” Kyrion said plainly.

“Liar! Human boys aren’t that tall! I think…” It paused for a second as it thought. “Y-you must have done something to the barrier!”

“It’s still up. My friends couldn’t get in. Does telling you I’m nine help?” Kyrion asked.

“I sense no deception from the boy. But he does have that affinity he could be good at lying.” Said a much older voice.

“I’m not here to fight.” Kyrion sighed again, letting his staff hit the ground and removing the knife from his belt.

One of the women retrieved his knife, and another struggled to lift the staff, much to her surprise.

“How heavy is that staff?” Another asked.

“Only two hundred pounds,” Kyrion said, surprised by the inability to lift the training tool.

“He can’t be a mere boy!” The yelling started all over again.

“How do you even lift this?” Was the question he decided to answer.

“Quite easily. It hurt for a while, but my arms are used to it. My master said it was compressed Iron oak, meaning that it’s highly dense despite its size. He said he’d get me a heavier one when I master this one.” Kyrion said, not understanding the issue.

A much stronger-looking tree lady came and hefted it up with ease. “Compressed Iron Oak? You can’t get that material easily. I see… where are you going, child!”

“I’m supposed to find this magical blue lotus and absorb its core for my water and beauty affinity.” Kyrion stopped trying to escape.

“Beauty? You mean…Nevermind. So you’re looking for the lake of purity you know this will cost you quite a bit. That lake is sacred to our people. We don’t let just anyone get there.” The leader replied.

“What’s your price?” Kyrion squinted. Adults all had a price. In his humble opinion, that was stupid. Still, he was clearly out of his depth.

“Your first, second, and third born children.” It said plainly, as though it didn’t expect any agreement.

“I don’t like that price. I won’t sell lives.” Kyrion said bluntly. He dared not ask these strange women where children came from. He also didn’t know where to find storks.

“Then two pints of your blood should do.” It replied.

Kyrion scrunched up his face. “I’m not supposed to give away my blood…What are you going to use it for?”

“To grow beastly Dryads. Human blood is a catalyst.” It told him.

“So watering plants with blood grows dryads?”

“Warriors of nature. Depending on the source the result will vary. Most are just brutes mindless guardians of the forest. Lesser than the intelligent counterparts that you see here.”

“I see. Can I give you something else?” Kyrion tried to back away.

“Is there something wrong with your blood?” One of the younger ones asked.

“I just don’t want my blood being used to kill others. And like I said, I can’t just give it away” Kyrion pulled out a walnut and tossed it to the one he assumed was in charge.

“This, do you know what this is?” Said the large dryad, clear deference was in her voice.

“Not quite. Still figuring it out.” Kyrion said, observing her reaction. He now knew that it had value to them.

“How many do you have?” She examined the nut carefully before it was whisked away by the wind.

“A few. I found them in a dungeon that collapsed recently.” Kyrion said a half-truth, seeing greed or something else rise inside the dryads.

“I see. Give us those and we will take you there?” She said plainly.

Kyrion pulled out three more walnuts and passed them to the lady.

“What will you use those for?” Kyrion asked curiously.

“Use your imagination.”

“...Wait… no you can’t!” Shock rose in the boy’s face.

“Can’t what?” A younger dryad asked curiously.

“Open up a rival hot spring by using beavers,” Kyrion answered that the images of a rival hotel owned and run by beavers made his blood boil. Therefore, the Busy Beavers Bathaporiam must never exist.

“You can’t fake innocence.” The leader said.

The group quickly made their way to the lake unhindered by natural roadblocks. Kyrion felt his body hungrily absorbing mana as they continued. The tree in his core seemed to be growing faster than it hit before the closer he got to the lake.

“This is the lake. Hold out your hand.” The dryad told the boy.

Kyrion held out his hand and felt a surge run through his body as a leaf appeared on his hand, and the dryads vanished.

“You are a friend of the forest.” So he heard from the trees around him.

Kyrion examined the lake and saw a single blue lotus floating on the lake. Flora and fauna of many kinds made their homes inside the lake, working together to build a happy ecosystem. For the second time that day, Kyrion felt at peace. In the middle of the lake was a sword stuck inside a rock.

“Hmm.. Nah I don’t need a sword.” Kyrion went to cut the core out of the plant when he noticed that he no longer had the knife.

The glowing symbol on his hand vanished moments later. But, of course, that didn’t help with his lack of knife issues.

“Uggg!” Kyrion recalled the paring knife being left on the ground. So he took off his shirt and shoes. Rolling up his pants legs. Slowly but surely, walking towards the sword set in the stone with practiced ease.

Kyrion saw some writing on the stone that he didn’t recognize, so he ignored it. Instead, he casually removed the sword from the stone. The sound of metal scraping against rock could be heard, but after the deed was done, the boy turned around and went back to the flower to cut it.

The job was swift and easy, the core easily fitting into his palm. He turned around to return it when he noticed a blue-skinned woman who appeared shirtless from the water. Her hair was the same color as the lotus that he just palmed.

“Oh, Great Hero, chosen by the world to save it from destruction! Puller of the Sword of Kings, I vow to….” It started.

“Up bup bup!” Kyrion ran across the lake, slid the sword back into the stone, and locked it back in.

“Huh? I could have sworn the sword was pulled from the enchanted stone. The enchantment is even broken, which means the legend….”

“No.” Kyrion said bluntly, making his way back to shore.

“No?” The spirit seemed perplexed.

“No. I got what I needed. Find someone else to be this hero you need. I have a bit on my plate already. I’m sure you’ll meet a mark willing to listen to your spiel one day. I won’t trust some lady who tells me that I’m a hero for picking up some random sword.” Kyrion, now on dry land, bowed and turned around. Grabbing his shirt and slipping his shoes on.

“What? I am Undine of the lake. The Great Water Spirit!” It took a minute to think before realizing that her mar… legendary hero was running away. Finally, she pulled the loosened sword from the stone and gave chase.

Kyrion was making good reasonable distance, following the voice of the forest to the exit, when a wave of water rose up to block the path.

“What?” Kyrion stopped and tried manipulating the water and found that whoever summoned it had control that far surpassed his.

“Just take the sword, oh great hero destined to save this world.”

“I don’t want it!” Finally, Kyrion was forced to use his secret weapon. He began rolling side to side, repeating the line over and over again. Secret technique petulant child act.

“This is not something a grown man should be doing now, get up and take responsibility.”

“B-but I don’t want the sword! I don’t want to be your hero!” He continued rolling back and forth.

“I will make you a hero whether you like it or not! What are you fifteen, sixteen? You should be much more mature than that.” The spirit didn’t like the idea of having to turn him into a brave defender of the world.

“Mature and pure are two different things.” Kyrion whined as he rolled some more.

“Ah. It must not be you then. Well, looks like I’ll just have to kill you then.” It raised the sword in preparation to put the boy out of her misery.

“You’d kill a child? You monster! Ah, I don’t want to die!” Kyrion sent saltwater into his eyes to make them red and look like he was genuinely crying. Never in his life had Kyrion wished he was shorter. Now, however, he cursed the abrupt height gain he received.

“Child? But you look at least… wait, you just summoned salt water!” The spirit eyed the boy with suspicion, raising the sword in a throwing motion.

Kyrion sensed the dryads approaching in large numbers and began to milk the situation some more. “Someone please! Save me!”

“What are you doing?” Undine asked, suspicion rising on her face.

“Help this spirit wants to take advantage of me and then kill me!” Kyrion screamed the final nail in the coffin.

“What’s going on here!” Said a familiar dryad’s voice. It eyed the spirit with a quizzical look.

“That man pulled out the blade of kings and is now running from responsibility.”

“I see no man here.” The dryad leader said plainly.

“You’re telling me that he isn’t a man? I’m not blind.”

“He is a child. He said so, and didn’t lie. Yet you try to force yourself onto him. For shame.” The leader shook her head along with the other dyads.

“What?” Undine seemed shocked. “How old are you?”

“Nine.” Kyrion said innocently.

Undine’s face dropped, and she held her head in her hands. “What freak of nature are you?”

“A pure one.” Kyrion blew a raspberry before pulling down his right eyelid.

“Please don’t taunt the spirit. We can only protect you so much.” The dryad said.

“Ah well I’ll be leaving then.” Kyrion turned around and began to leave when the water encircled him.

“Boy? I see that you’re a spirit master. I could become one of your spirits and help you on your journey.”

“I have a water spirit as well. I don’t think he’d like you very much. You’re pushy.” Kyrion said, his face blank.

“Excuse me!?” Kyrion grabbed his head, and Issac popped out of his core and eyed the women.

“Who is that?” Undine asked.

“I am the great Issac Madroc, of the Cerulean swan race. I would love for you to join me on my island. Just the two of us, alone. There is a man known as Ghilis Koln, a leader of orcs known for having more wives and concubines than stars in the night sky. Such a shame he was afflicted with Ed’s curse. Nevertheless If you join with me, you’d be getting lots of me.” Tentacles of water began to rise from the ground and wiggle menacingly.

The Dryads choked back a laugh.

Kyrion didn’t know why but wanted to kick Issac to the moon.

The wall of water began to waver a bit before it stiffened back up. “I won’t be your slave bird. But I will make you strong. None of that…stuff.”

Issac sighed. “None? Well, Kyrion, why don’t you go ahead and absorb that lotus.”

Kyrion was pulling out the core he had just acquired in preparation to absorb it.

“Wait! I’ll…stay with you on the island but you won’t be able to touch. No touching.”

A whip of water knocked the core out of Kyrion’s hand.

“Traitor!” Kyrion declared.

“Looks like your spirit accepts my proposal.” Undine crossed her arms.

“Fine. But only if you cover yourself, too many floppy bits.” Kyrion rubbed his hand.

“I’d be glad to.” Undine said as a dress made from water appeared and began to cover her.

Issac was heartbroken and pounding the ground with its wing in frustration.

“Looks like none of us are happy.” Kyrion stated.

Issac looked at the boy as though he remembered something. “You don’t look your age, and it’s disconcerting.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Kyrion eyed the bird.

“I didn’t say it was bad, you’re just going to have some trouble in the near future. While I may welcome that trouble, I ask that you make your stance known and keep your innocence safe.” Issac tapped a webbed foot on the ground.

“Huh? Fine, you can join Issac then.” Kyrion watched as Undine fell to the floor like a sea blue spirit core.

An evil plan went through Kyrion’s head. He recalled Issac and then approached the core and sent it into his special space for later use.

“After all that I may as well take the sword. Then at least I can sell it to someone. Or decorate a wall.” Kyrion retrieved the sword, picking it up with ease.

“Why do you seem so irritated?” The dryad asked.”

“Because this was supposed to be an in and out job. Not some tale of legend in Nico’s books. I swear, one day I will complete something that doesn’t go off the rails in any way whatsoever and it will catch me by surprise.” Kyrion pouted.

“I hope you find inner peace one day.” The dryad said.

“I tasted some while I was here until I met that water spirit. What happened to that knife anyway?”

“That knife?” The dryad pointed to a knife hanging from his belt buckle.

“When did that get there?” Kyrion eyed the knife with suspicion, noting a glowing set of runes.