It is time to leave ...

I opened my eyes terrified, tried to get up but the pain was intense. My upper body was wrapped in a white bandage and there was a mark of blood on the side.

"lie down, your wounds aren't fully healed yet" my grandpa said while sitting next to me "so … can explain what happened to you?".

I told him what happened in details "I'm not saying that you're lying, but I went there to check by myself and I can guarantee you that there's nothing behind that waterfall".

"HUH?!?" I said with a surprised face "then, was it some kind of magic".

"I think so … and I think it is something that was made specifically for you".

"something made for me?" I asked.

"Yes … remember when I told you that you're not my real grandson?".

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with this situation?".

"The thing that I haven't told you about, is that when I first found you, you had a powerful aura coming from you, but you never seemed to be that strong in our usual training".

"Are you saying that I'm the one who defeated that soul?".

"Yes … I think that because you never tried to use this power you can't really control it, but when your life was under threat it immediately activated to save you".

"but what is that thing called –The system–".

"I don't really know. I've never heard of something called –The system– before".

"Hmmm…" I stayed silent for a bit, thinking of an explanation for this when my grandpa cut the silence with his words "You know, Arthur. I think it's time for you to leave this place".

"What? What are you talking about?" I said surprised.

He lowered his head and said "this place is far from the capital and the other populations, so I haven't taken you out of here all your life, and I already taught you everything I know about old martial arts and north style swordsmanship, you even became way better than me, so there is no point in staying with this old man any longer".

I tried to get up again enduring the pain and said "but, won't you need me to help you here?".

"Don't worry so much, I'll be more than okay by myself" he then smiled, put his hand on my head, and said "you should stop worrying about me, and worry about yourself instead. This big world is waiting for you to explore it and learn it's secrets".

I lay down again, laughed and said "you know I can't stop worrying about you, but if you say so, I think I'll just leave".

"Alright then, when you are fully healed I'll give you something that will help in your trip, but for now you need to rest". He stood up, looked at me and said "I'll go bring you some food so don't move" and left the room.

I looked into the roof and said "leave the place, huh? This power Is something I don't really understand, so I need to learn more about it … but the question is, what exactly should I do?".

"How about you enter the magic academy then?" my grandpa entered the room with some soup.

"The one that Kara always brags about him attending it?" I said "Nah, I'll pass for the time being".

He put the soup next to me, helped me get up, and said "why, isn't it the best place to look for some information about your power".

"I'm sure that you know better people I can learn from, and I don't really want to see that bastard's face".

"well, there are some people that come to my mind but, do you really hate Kara that much?".

"The fact that he is so spoiled and arrogant makes him kinda sucks".

Kara is the second student of grandpa beside me, he came from a noble family so he grew up spoiled. His dad was on good terms with grandpa so he asked him to teach his son what he knows.

Grandpa agreed just because we needed money, so he just endured that little brat

"to be honest, I can't agree more" we both laughed after saying that.

"I'll go to the academy just to practice and improve what I'm gonna learn. and of course wipe the floor with that brat face, not that I can't beat him up now" I finished laughing

I ate my food and went back to sleep, and by the time I woke up the bandage was already removed. I could move pretty well so I got up and walked out of the room.

"Good morning" I said yawning while entering the kitchen.

"Oh, you finally awake" grandpa said "take a seat, the food is nearly done"

I sat down and said "I healed pretty fast, didn't I? … I didn't expect that wound to heal in one night"

Grandpa put the food on the table and said "well, no. You actually slept for 5 days now".

"WHAT!!?".

"It seems that your body was exhausted and didn't wake up until now".

"well, even 5 days are pretty short for a wound like that to heal".

He sat down and said "that's because your body healed itself using some kind of blood magic, I don't know I'm not a magician".

"Neither I" I said and started eating.

"By the way, Beatrice came to check on you while you were sleeping".

"It's been a while since I saw her last time ... I wonder what would she say if she knows about me leaving the place".

"You probably shouldn't tell her about it she would just refuse to let you leave".

"Yeah, you're probably right" nevertheless, I really want to talk to her one last time ... well, I think this is how the ball bounces sometimes.

We finished eating and head down to the basement where grandpa opened a hidden door that I didn't know about before. He took me inside and started walking towards a mounted katana with a purple wrap, white Menuki, a golden tsuba, and a black saya.

He touched it and said "this sword has been inherited for many generations now, great names lifted this sword, and today is-".

"ok ok, just stop being dramatic … it doesn't suit you at all".

He turned to me and asked "really?".

"yeah trust me grandpa, you're not that guy".

"ok then, I'll just tell you what makes this sword special", he started telling me about the sword, and apparently the blade was made of a rare metal called ivarium, it was slightly heavy but pretty fast so that it will be compatible with any kind of magic and any style of swordsmanship.

A dragon was engraved on the golden tsuba, referring to an old legend saying that the dragon lord was the first person to use this sword, and if the sword liked its bearer, it will give him/her some of the dragon lord power. That didn't happen though.

When I lifted the sword, I felt something weird happening to my body, as if …I'm getting stronger.

I looked into it again, and half of the blade started turning to purple color. I looked into my grand to find him speechless, a look mixed with surprise and fear was covering his face. "Grandpa? Is there something wrong?" I asked with confusion.

He looked at me and said "this … didn't happen since the disappearance of the 2nd swordmaster … the sword didn't just like you, it loved you … as if it finally Reunited with someone who has been away for a while".

I was surprised by that, not knowing what to say, but I just put the katana in the saya and said "what else did you get for me".

The surprise on grandpa's face flew away as I said that. He brought three other items, a white mask with some purple shapes on it, a scarf, and a ring.

"The mask is for you to hide your identity, so no one would recognize you by the time you join the academy" he said "it can change your voice and hair color".

"What about the scarf and the ring?" I asked.

"You may not feel like it, but you aren't controlling the aura you're spreading, and some people might stop you thinking that you're a dangerous person so the scarf will help you hide this aura".

"And the ring?".

He went to the door, opened it and said "I will leave it for you to find out. Let's go back now; you should prepare yourself to leave".

Later that day, I took some food and necessary things in addition to what grandpa gave me. When I was ready to leave he told me "cross the mountains and you'll find the city of Levarya".

He gave me a wooden piece and said, "show this to the guards and they will let you in, and then look for someone called Maximus, and things will get easy from there".

I opened the front door and said "I'm heading out now".

Grandpa smiled and said "Take care of yourself".

"I will" and that's how I started my first adventure.

–Grandpa's point of view–

"He is leaving, huh-" I said with a sad tone "When I first picked him up, I felt something weird about him, but after seeing what happened to that katana, I'm sure there is definitely something I don't know about him. Right? Vi".

A hawk appeared on my shoulder and started talking "Yes, that kid is mysterious"

When I was about to go back inside I heard a voice of a girl saying "Wait!! ... wait, van grandpa", I looked towards where the voice was coming from, and I saw a little girl coming, it was Arthur's friend, Beatrice ...

I rolled my eyes and said "Oh come on, give me a break". when she got near me she said panting "My mom-... Told me that ... Arthur is leaving".

"First things first, catch your breath" I said "and Arthur is already gone".

"Wait wha- ... when?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Not so long ago, but considering the fact that he is pretty fast, he might have crossed a long way by the time being".

she looked kind of sad when I said that, shed some tears and said "I just wanted to at least see him one last time before he leave".

I didn't know what to do, so I just put my hand on her head and said "I know you do, and I'm sure Arthur also wanted to do that, but he thought it would be better if he just left without saying anything", I then crouched and said "he told me he will join the academy when he's done, so why don't you work hard to also join and impress him".

"really?!" she said with sparkling eyes.

I then whispered to her "I'm sure you will get his attention if you do that". she blushed and got away from me, I started laughing while entering the house and said "you come to me any time and I'll teach you everything I taught Arthur".