Chapter 1: The 9-Star Mage

Christopher sat atop the edge of a cliff and looked down at the forest which seemed to extend to the ends of the world. He had a sad look on his face and seemed a bit tired.

Standing behind him a man with a plump belly and elegant attire looked down at Christopher with a smug look on his face.

"Christopher, don't you understand that the 4 great kingdoms despise you?"

"...I don't care. As long I can continue to slay the fiends and help the innocent, I don't care who hates me."

A small vein was evident on the fat man's neck, 'Damned 9-Star Mage...always so righteous, we'll see if you act like that soon.'

"Hahaha! Always so upstanding! that's so like you Christopher."

The mage stayed silent before saying, "Are you one of them?"

He was startled by his question, "W-What do you mean?"

"Are you one of the people that loathe me?"

"I-I...No...Why would I be?...no way!" Christopher looked over his shoulder and glared into the man's eyes, "That's the voice of a man lying" He said.

the fat man clenched his teeth and raised his voice, "Y-You!..."

Christopher stood up from the cliff and suddenly his feet lifted from the ground. He now levitated a few feet from the earth.

"If that's how you feel Louis, then so be it."

The fat man backed up a bit, 'Wh-What is he doing? he won't hurt me...no way!'

"Do not fear, I will not hurt you...Just yet."

Christoper flew away at breakneck speeds and soon arrived at a large kingdom. A giant castle and thriving buildings stood tall. The kingdom and its roads bustling with people.

He smiled a bit and started to chant something.

"ᚳᚢᚱᛏᚪᛁᚾ..."

A giant border of blue hue surrounded the kingdom. Everyone looked up to see the great mage Christopher setting the border around them.

"*Curtain* Is a strong spell of mine, nothing should break through it."

Meanwhile, the 4 kingdoms were gathering together and getting their strongest all ready to kill the mage Christopher Vermont.

But he wasn't scared, he was smiling even, laughing actually.

After all he had done, he just found it absurd for anyone to want to kill him for no reason. 

The grin on his face grew bigger, it had been a while since anybody wanted to kill him. 

Once he became a 9-Star mage, the balance of the world shifted. People were growing stronger than ever before and the 4 kingdoms just couldn't keep up. And it was all because of him, Christopher Vermont.

A Great shadow descended on his entire body, along with the entire kingdom. They all looked up in horror and a dragon with 2 men standing on snickered as they looked at Christopher. To his right 10 mages, all of them seemingly strong, and to his left 10 swordsmen all clutched their swords in their hands and were ready to strike at any second.

"So, this is what it's come to?"

One of the men on the dragon jumped down and landed on the border, "You should have expected this."

"It's only right that a man like you should be dead."

"After everything I've done, you all still hate me. Is it envy? or just hatred?" Christopher asked.

A smile slowly appeared on his face, it grew brighter and bigger, "Why not both?!"

The 20 swordsmen and mages dashed at Christopher, but he was ready and cast a spell without even speaking.

An invisible wall of air stopped them from going any further, they were then blown back by a wave of wind. As they quickly recovered from the spell, they were back on him.

The swordsmen used strong and fast sword skills to try and kill Christopher But he swiftly dodged and blocked everything with his spells.

'ᚻᚪᛋᛏᛖ.' 

In his mind, he conjured a speed spell and with blurry movements, all of the swordsmen had dents in their chests from his punches. They all flew back and landed on their backsides.

"ᛁᚾᚠᛖᚱᚾᚩ."

A great fire spell, Inferno. It blazes its victim in just seconds. All of the mages tried to move out of the way but 3 were caught by the spell and half of their bodies were done for.

"Is this all you have?"

The men on the dragons clenched their fist, "That damned bastard! I think its time we do it!"

But the other man stopped him, "Not yet."

"But-"

"I said not yet!"

He stayed silent and just nodded.

The battle of the mages and swordsmen resumed, spells were thrown all over the place and swords were swung. And every single one of them was towards one man.

'These people are strong...the mages must consist of 7 or even 8-Star mages...and the swordsmen, they must all be 6 and 7 stars. Even if I'm 9-Star this will be tough.'

And as the battle carried on, they were all at their wit's end. They all knew that Christopher was strong but to keep up with 10 swordsmen and 10 mages of 6, 7, and 8-star strength is just insane to them.

Everyone below them watched as the battle continued, Christopher was feeling nauseous He had used up a lot of mana and used some really strong spells.

But the biggest mana-consuming thing was the curtain move, he had been maintaining the spell all throughout the battle just to protect the kingdom which he loved.

..

A little boy in his mother's arms watched as Christopher fought "M-Mommy...why is the hero fighting those bad people?"

"I-I don't know...."

The affray was getting much worse, Christophers' movements were getting slower and weaker. The two men on the dragon noticed this and smirked.

"It's time."

"Good."

Just then both men pulled out an orb, it was big and red. They chanted some magical spell and 2 red beams blasted into the sky.

Christopher was distracted by this for just a second and he was struck by a sword. Blood rushed from the open wound on his arm.

He used a regular fireball of great prestige and sent it to the swordsmen, making them run away.

"ᛗᛖᚾᛞ..."

Mend is a healing spell that only mages of the higher tier can reach. It heals all physical wounds.

The cut on his arms closed up with great speed and the battle waged on.

The 2 beams then were sent crashing down toward Christopher with speed not even he could comprehend.

The border failed and he failed. He was battered into the ground and couldn't even think of moving, he tried to use mend but his body wasn't listening to him.

"Wh-Wha....What was t-that?..."

'Huh, why can't I speak anymore?...why won't I move?'

After not being able to move, he couldn't speak, and after not being able to speak, he couldn't think.

His eyes closed and he descended into darkness.

But a bright light blinded him, he wanted to look away but he just couldn't.

When he got closer to the light he found himself on the side of a road with tattered clothing and scraps of bread.

A black-haired boy with crimson eyes looked around in confusion.

"What the hell?...J-Just where am I?"