Start of the Hero's Journey

My father vomited a large amount of blood as his sword clattered to the ground. I looked on in shock to see the small hole in my father's abdomen. The energy bolt that Dagon had released into his stomach had cauterized the wound, however, the damage was already done.

Somehow, my mother had managed to cross the several meters between her and my father as he fell backward and she was caught in his arms as he fell. "Honey! Darling!!!" She wailed as tears streamed down her face.

I felt a red-hot rage envelop my mind. I took a step forward and found myself instantly in front of Dagon, who was smiling wickedly at my attempted attack. I swung my weapon with the full strength that I could muster only to have it caught between his thumb and index finger like it was the easiest thing in the world. Dagon then dropped his staff to the side while the other soldier made an effort to catch it. I had used my left arm for the swing as might right was broken after being hit by his surprise attack earlier. Dagon, quickly picking up on this, grabbed me by my left arm and lifted me off the ground by it, bringing my face within inches of his as he looked me in the eyes.

"I don't have the time to be playing right now... you're the one we'll use as the hosta-" He started before I headbutt him in his nose, breaking it.

"Son of a B*tch!!!" He yelled as he quickly threw me to the side. I tumbled down the road helplessly for a few meters while Dagon held his face before looking at me with pure hatred in his eyes. He then looked as if he had an epiphany and smiled at me evilly.

He turned his head towards my wailing mother and dying father before my mother's entire body locked up. She stopped wearing and looked at the man with a mix of terror and rage. I couldn't make out Dagon's face, however, I knew he was thinking of something evil, so I attempted to stand up only to realize that my body was too weak to move. My mother floated over into Dagon's open palm telekinetically as she seemed to be unable to break free of whatever force was binding her.

"My staff," Dagon said eerily calmly. The soldier stood beside him and presented it to the warlord while on one knee.

Dagon didn't even need to say anything else, he simply took the staff and in one swing, beat my mother's face in with it. I heard a sickening squelching sound as her body stopped struggling and went limp. He then dropped the body like it was simply a lifeless thing and it flopped over onto the ground in an unceremonious way.

Time slowed down as I watched in horror. It hadn't been for long, but I truly loved that oddball couple as if they were my real parents. My mother's open flirting fangirl nature towards my strict yet badass father. The warm days we spent together during my childhood were some of the happiest I had ever been. To be honest, secretly, I had wished such days would never come to an end. Even though I always said I would go out and get a harem and all the other typical isekai MC jazz, I had really become much too comfortable to actually act on that dream and had become content in this happy little hamlet of mine. I had forgotten, over the thirteen years I'd spent here, that this was a world of Survival of the Fittest and that only the strong survived.

As I lay in agony, both emotional and physical, I thought back to all the things I wished I'd done. 'If I had just trained a little more. If I had just been a bit more vigilant if I had just... no!' I thought in a rage.

'I won't do this. I won't die without avenging my parents! I promise I'll become stronger. Strong enough to save everyone!' I yelled out in my mind.

<Confirmed. Will to protect the ones the user cares for. Will to live on despite dire situation Confirmed. Will unbroken confirmed.>

<All Conditions have been met. Individual "Alaster" has acquired the Unique Skill [Argonaut]>

At that moment, I felt a huge wave of power wash over me as my body began to restore itself at a rapid rate. To be completely honest, I was so angry and distraught at the time that I didn't even process what the Voice of the World had said. All I knew was that I wanted to kill the man in front of me and become stronger. Strong enough to never have to lose another loved one again.

Dagon was still busy admiring his work before he slowly turned towards me, intent on smugly showing off the fruits of his labor, however when he looked back to where I had been, he saw nothing.

"Lord Dago-" the retainer started to say before I silenced his annoying pattering by smashing his face into the ground. It made a sickening squelching noise as it did so.

Dagon was shocked at what had transpired but quickly caught his guard slipping and raising his defenses, which saved his life. On my next strike, I used my full power in an attempt to directly split him in two with an overhead strike. Dagon guarded by transforming his stall into a giant energy shield with a light construct. When my sword strike met his shield, a loud boom echoed throughout the village and a gust of wind kicked up dirt all over the battlefield.

Dagon was forced onto one knee by the force of my attack however I didn't let up and kept pushing downwards, exerting all of my strength onto him.

"Shit! Did he awaken!?!" Dagon yelled out to himself but I ignored his useless screams.

I felt a power welling up from inside of me and when I felt like I couldn't take it anymore, I decided to use that excess power on my sword. I glowed brightly in a golden light before a huge storm of energy erupted above it and my blade further cut into the construct shield, slowly slicing through it. Then, once halfway through, another pulse and the construct and the staff beneath it were cut clean in two. Dagon ad rolled to the side just in time to only lose one of his arms when my slash penetrated his magic item.

"Impossible! That item was given to my by Lord Jahil himself!" Dagon said aloud in astonishment, more surprised at the loss of his item than his arm.

"Shut up and die," I replied, using the same technique I used on my sword before on my body to accelerate myself at him.

I appeared directly in front of him before he could even complete his step back and quickly sliced him through his mid-section. I had expected to bisect him, but his armor was seemingly made of a similar material or was of a similar quality to his magic item constructs as my slice lost most of its power just cutting through the armor so I only left him with a deep, but not instantly fatal slash on his chest.

Unfortunately for Dagon, we were still humans, even if we didn't want to be, so something like the slash I gave him wouldn't be something he'd be able to live from without immediately healing.

Dagon flopped to the floor, breathing hard and tasting metal in his mouth from the blood. As he lay on his back and looked upon the angry youth who stood over him he felt fear for the first time since he had met his lord, Jahil.

It was something in the eyes. Something that unsettled him. That looked upon him with contempt and disgust. Like he was a mere flea before giants. Dagon shuttered as I raised my blade to end him but he steeled his courage at the last moment.

"For Lo-" he didn't get to finish his statement as I swung down as hard as I could and with all the energy I could muster.

Upon impact, a large explosion occurred, a flash of golden light, and a wave of pressure from where the man had once laid. Now, nothing. not a single drop of blood or metal from the armor that had given me so much trouble from before.

After that was over I slowly walked to my mother's corpse. It seems like in his last moments, my father had somehow mustered the strength to crawl over to her side before he passed on. As I took heavy steps towards their corpses I shed things. First it was my sword, which fell after the first step. then it was my left boot, which fell apart as I walked, then my right. On the last step, when I stood over their bodies, it was my tears I was sheading.

I vaguely recall hearing something calling for me after that, but I ignored it as I fell to the floor and hugged my parent's bodies until I cried myself to sleep.