11 A new world (3)

Klyran followed the path into the forest to the point where he could no longer see any signs of disturbance that were present before. There were no longer any broken branches, or scratched barks. But as luck would have it, just when that trail went cold for Klyran, the smell of blood appeared in the air. It was a smell that he could recognize as well. The blood belonging to one of the men that he saw in the house, along with the other injured people.

'Not far' his eyes then sharpened and flashed darkly.

He followed the smell, trying to imagine what horrible beast he might encounter, only to stop in his tracks. His eyes widened then.

'What?...'

In place of a blood-lusted wild beast that he expected, there stood a group of creatures, the same species as those from the village. It made Klyran confused at first. But all doubts were erased from his mind when he saw their weapons covered in dried blood. He then realized that they truly were the ones behind the attack.

'Those weak creatures... Are attacking each other?' the idea seemed ridiculous, since weak creatures usually lived together to protect themselves from predators.

Carefully to not be seen, the Ryan quickly observed the men. Their status was much higher than the villagers, ranging between 6 and 8. It made him confident that it would be a fight that Klyran could managed. And if it came to worst, he could always flee, since his agility was also higher. But the mere thought of leaving them alive made his blood boil. He then remembered what happened to the people who heard his voice. While it was horrifying to see the result, it now seemed appealing. With that in mind, he boldly stepped into the clearing.

Once the group noticed him, they all begun looking at his clothes. He saw greed in their eyes and had no doubts that they wanted his possessions.

'I see... They don't do this out of desperation for food'

So that was what they were then, creatures that had their mind poisoned to the point where they became wicked. They tried to speak something to him, but not knowing their language, all Klyran did was grab his weapon, which caused them to do the same.

Without waiting another moment, a few of the men rushed to attack him. Klyran found no difficulty in dodging their attempts to slay him. But when who he thought to be their leader decided to try, Klyran did not dodge, but let his blade clash with the sword. He prepared his full strength to resist, but quickly noticed that not only were they slow, those creatures were also considerably weaker than him.

"So this is the difference between those numbers" the Ryan thought then, "Amazing" he couldn't help but think.

Then, a part of him could not help but wonder, why have they rushed at him. Could they not see the big difference in the numbers between them? Then, another thought occurred to him.

'What if those people could not see the same window. What if it was not something that those creatures could see.'

Another thing that irked Klyran was their occupation. Despite them sharing the same "Swordsman" title, all of them had it at level 3 to 4, another person at the back even had it as high as 5. Yet Klyran's own Swordsmanship was only at level 2.

'Life is so unfair' he glared at his sword.

At the same time, another idea occurred to him. 'Since it is a skill that many of them have, there must be a way to learn it'

It made him happy. Because if there truly was a way to increase his skills in this world, he would stop at nothing to gain it.

Some part of Klyran did not wish to slay them. In his mind, it would mean blood on his hands, as he did not consider the other people that he slayed as his victims, for he never intended to harm them. But then, if he would have left them alone, Klyran could not help but think that their wicked mind would cause them to attack another village. The mere though of other people suffering like that has made him decide, those men would die by his hand.

'I would rather have a it of foul blood on my hands, than let those beasts kill more innocent people' his eyes flashed as he made up his mind.

He disposed of them quickly after that, not wishing to drag things on. After the deed was done, and the men were laying dead at his feet, Klyran went to their camp. He quickly noticed that many of the items that were on the ground smelled like the people from the village. He gathered all the items in the bags scattered around and then approached one of the horses. The animals were skittish, after seeing the blood bath, but a few gently pats made the animals calm down. He loaded the bags on them, like he has seen some villagers doing and then grabbed their reigns. He did not leave behind anything but the bodies of the dead bandits, taking everything that he could find in their camp back to the village.

On his way back, Klyran once again begun to stare at the window. He wondered about his "status" and could not help but be curious about what number and levels his brother would show.

'It would have been above 20 for sure', he considered, since there was no doubt in Klyran's mind that his brother had strength way above his own.

The sun was already going down by the time he returned. Upon hearing the trotting coming from the forest, all the villagers quickly hid in their homes. It was only the old physician who was brave enough to stay on the path. She was waiting for the young boy that accompanied her. Ever since she heard from the villager that her companion has rushed after the bandits, worry has gripped her heart and its talons sunk deep into her soul. So she stood patiently, looking at the forest, where the sound of approaching horses could be hear. Then, she recognized the sole figure that was leading the animals and gave a shout and rushed to him as fast as her old legs could carry her.

Hearing her delighted shout, other people begun exiting their hiding places to look at who it was that was coming their way. Everyone who has seen Klyran that day easily recognized the young man that looked much like a noble. He stopped when the old woman reached him and engulfed him in her embrace, only to let go of the reigns and return the affection. Then, every villager rushed to the pair. They quickly recognized their belongings poking out of the bags. It did not take long for everyone to understand that this young man, who was smiling gently at the old physician, has just slain a group of bandits that was terrorising the region for a few months now. They all cheered him and clapped their hands. They all wished to shake his hand and express their gratitude, only to be stopped by the old woman.

'What a nice feeling' Klyran thought and didn't even mind the strange and nearly painful squeeze around his heart.

"He cannot understand what we are saying. He came from a very far away land", her frail voice resonated and it made them all stop.

Now, they were unsure as to how they could thank the young man, only for the old woman to speak again.

"But he does understand gratitude and can read our faces. Just smile at him and bow your head and he will understand everything", she then said and everyone followed her advice.

Upon seeing the grateful smiles on the people, Klyran could not help but smile back, feeling that he has just made a good deed.

'It was worth it' he nodded, ignoring the slight trembling that was present in his mind, 'I guess killing for the first time is never easy' he then gripped his sword tightly.

He felt good, knowing that he helped those people. He also felt superior, that he was able to defeat so many opponents on his own. But when the villagers all begun bowing their heads, the young man could not help but blush and feel embarrassed at receiving so much attention. He scratched his head and looked around, making some of the villagers laugh.

The two of them spend the nigh in that village, in one of the few homes that was not destroyed. The next morning, when the two were ready to depart, Klyran helped the old woman get on the horse that the villagers have offered her. He then looked at the man that came to ask for their help and glanced at the reigns in his hand. While he wanted to continue his life in that small village and stay with this woman, he knew what he had to do. He squeezed the hand of the old woman and gave her a gentle smile. Then, he approached the young man and shoved the reigns in his hand, pointing to his companion. Without waiting for much longer he took off in another direction, only stopping once to look back and see the old woman giving him a sad look, but she did not try to stop him. The young man also understood his silent words and mounted the horse and stood near the old physician, ready to escort her back home.

'I don't fit here' he sadly thought, 'No matter how much I wish that I would' he smiled at the old woman.

'I will never forget you' he gave them one last wave and turned around to walk in the opposite direction.

On his way out of the village, he was stopped by a few of the men. They grabbed his hand and raised a finger at him, then looked behind them. Curiously, Klyran also looked in the same direction, only to see a few women rushing toward him. Then, in a second, a bag was shoved in his hands and various items begun filling it. He was unsure what most of the items were, but he recognized most of it as food. He gave the villagers a grateful smile and then set the bag on his shoulder. He waved at them and they waved back and then Klyran was on his way.

He was sure that just like this village, there must be others out there suffering from those wicked of their own kin.

'I might not fit here, but at least in this world... I can be useful' Klyran felt energy and excitement filling his body.

In his own world, he was weak and could not win against anyone, but here, he was strong and could match a whole group and win, if the previous fight was anything to go by. Then, Klyran remembered his brother's words about destiny. How all of them were born into this world with a purpose, how destiny would find a way to lead them on the path they were always meant to find.

'And maybe this is it, maybe I was always meant to end up here, to defend those weak creatures against those who wished them harm. Maybe here... I will finally be able to grow stronger and defend myself' the thought made him smile.

For some time, this new purpose made him forget about his desire to go back home. In its place, a new desire came to be. Klyran could not wait to find a way to increase his skill.

'Hopefully' Klyran thought, 'I will find a human who will be able to help me increase my Swordsmanship to at least Level 5.'

And so Klyran went from village to village, helping where he could and defending the defenceless against bandits and wild beasts that were terrorising them. This made him rather well know in the region, to the point where even villages that did not need his help would always offer him some food. All of them having heard stories from their relatives from another village who were suffering prior to the arrival of a young noble looking man with black eyes and raven hair.

Klyran did not know the region, so he went where the wind guided him and helped everyone he could. That was how he ended up on the path where some bandits tried to ambush him. The path where he encountered Aldryn and the two of them fought, and then became friends.