(Arc: origin) Bliss village

The wind gently brushed against my skin as I opened my eyes to the breath taking view of the valley. The never-ending jewel-blue sky and the mountains that seemed to pierce heaven itself were a feast to the eyes. I stood up and made my way home across the wilderness. I've just turned 15 years old and I live alone in a modest cottage. My parents abandoned me at birth in a random village with an ordinary looking pendant around my neck and ever since then, the villagers have seen me as a burden.

As I was strolling through the woods, I could faintly discern the sound of leaves crunching all around me. Before being given the opportunity to react, I felt a crushing blow to my ribs that sent me flying back several meters. My body crashed against a tree trunk and blood spewed out of my orifices.

I looked up with an angry and stern expression. My vision was blurry, but I could make out five figures. I had been in this very situation many times before, so I knew exactly what was going on. The leader of the group of ruffians was Joshua, the son of one of the village elders. He was born with a silver spoon therefore ever since he was a kid, he abused of his power and authority.

Joshua suddenly burst into laughter and he said,

"You're still as pathetic as ever, you seem to be training diligently in the art of weakness, it must take hard work to stay as feeble as you."

I clenched my fists and furrowed my brows when he uttered his remarks, but I couldn't refute them. He was spot on.

After humiliating me, they left while giggling. I got up and I dragged my feet to my place. Every so often, they came by to bully me. I had gotten so sick of it, I promised that if one day I became stronger, they would all pay!

After the fatiguing hunt and the beat down, Rohan was exhausted and as he reached his dilapidated cottage, he rushed to take a bath. He removed his ragged and blood stained clothes to reveal his toned body. Rohan was a tall and lean teenager; had jet black hair and a tanned complexion. With a sharp gaze and a handsome face, any woman would become enamored with a single glance. Emanating from him was a cold and unsettling aura.

I entered the hot bath and immediately let out a sigh of relief. After hunting ever since I could speak, why am I still weak. I have never managed to make it out of a hunt unscathed. Anyone would have the impression that I embodied weakness...and they'd be right.

- knock knock

I came back to my senses and got dressed and rushed to open the door. On the other side, staring at me with a smile was the only person who didn't treat me badly, my only friend, Jack. The latter was the son of the village blacksmith, Mr Tommy. I quickly let Jack in and we got seated on the creaking wooden chairs. He looked at me trying to analyze my facial expression before he started speaking.

"There is a spot available in the ranks of the village guards, are you interested? Father and I had a lot of convincing to do to obtain that spot so think carefully about your answer or else I'll slit your throat when you sleep!"

At first I thought I had misheard him. The guards were an exclusive group created to protect the village. They did not accept random people into their ranks, they only invited those with talent, something I didn't have an ounce of. Without missing a beat, I replied,

"Of course!"

I had always wanted to become stronger and now a god given opportunity was right in front of me. I would be a fool not to accept.

"Great, now let's have a meal to celebrate the occasion!" replied Jack.

"So now that you are joining the guards, are you thinking of getting less injured? I don't want to tell my children the story of Rohan the hunter who died while hunting a rabbit," Jack said in a sarcastic tone.

The sun started to set and Jack decided that it was time to depart. He said his goodbyes and went on his way. Tomorrow would be my big day, my first day as a guard. I oozed of impatience.

The next day, at dawn, I sprinted across the woods to reach the border of Bliss village. As the gates were coming into view, two burly men who wielded spears came towards me.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF," shouted one of the men

"I am Rohan, I am the new guard," I replied

"Ah the greenhorn, follow us closely."

We entered the city and I saw the bustling environment, something that I hadn't seen for a couple of months. After a short trip, we arrived in front of an old stone building with a wood plaque on top of the door. 'honorable guards'. One of the men knocked on the door. After a couple of minutes, a middle aged bloke opened the door. He had a fair complexion, blonde hair and an expressionless face. Additionally, he boasted a scabbard on the left side of his hip. The hilt of his sword looked expensive with a shiny jewel at one end.

"You must be Rohan."

I nodded.

"Welcome to our family! We've heard great things about you from Mr Tommy. I am Gerald, the vice captain of the guards and I'll be in charge of your integration to the unit," he added.

"Follow me"

Gerald and I made our way through the halls to a humongous area which seemed to be dedicated to duels.

"I want to test your skills," Gerald said while smiling

I nodded and picked up a sword from the weapon rack. My expectations were high...but nothing could have prepared me for what I was I was about to witness. I got into my stance and readied myself.

"you can attack me whenever you want to," he said nonchalantly

I put a lot of force into the ground and dashed towards Gerald. As I got into striking range, I started swinging my sword. A thud echoed in the room when our blades clashed. I was feeling confident until I saw that none of my hits were effective.

Gerald was effortlessly parrying all of them. He even seemed bored, he wasn't even looking at me! I got desperate and started getting frustrated. Am I really not good enough to make him look at me when fighting? I continued my barrage and that's when he said,

"I've seen enough, we have a lot of work to do."

In one fell swoop, he struck the edge of my blade with his sword, shattering it like glass. Only the hilt remained in my hands.

"Go to the end of the corridor, you'll find your room. Wake up early tomorrow, you will join our training session."

I dragged my disappointed self along the path before Gerald spoke,

"Ah I forgot, grab this and practice it in your free time."

I grabbed the book he threw and looked at the title, 'Energy Circulation'.

There is energy all around us and in all of us. Humans use energy circulation for a wide range of things. Mages use energy to cast spells while swordsman use energy to enhance their physical attributes. The possibilities are endless. Most people pick a specific field they want to go into. The reason is the amount of talent and hard work required to master being both a mage and a swordsman is ridiculous.

There are ten stages before reaching the Zenith stage. Each of the ten stages are divided into two subcategories, lower and upper level. Joshua, who was only a lower first level in energy circulation, was already strong enough to defeat ten regular men. That was an indication of the strength difference that energy could make.

Just as there are ten stages for energy circulation, there are also ten separate stages for both swordsmanship and magic. Gerald was a third stage swordsman and already an incredible and dignified warrior.

This is the first step to the top. I turned around and made my way to my room; sat on the floor and started reading the book. I studied the diagrams closely and after two hours i finally finished the book.

I closed it and placed it next to me, it was now time to put what I had learnt into practice!

I shut my eyes and began meditating while thinking of the flow of air around me, visualizing the energy as particles that follow the motion of the air. I started absorbing those particles into my body.

They started to clump right next to my heart until I couldn't absorb any more. I now concentrated into forming my energy source. The energy was gradually glowing at a higher intensity. I visualized the energy solidifying into a box like shape.

To say that it was painful would be an understatement. This was more agonizing than all of my previous injuries combined. The floor was covered in a layer of sweat and my clothes were drenched. I could not recall how much time I spent during this process, but I had successfully created my energy source. I had reached the lower level first level of energy circulation.

I could now circulate energy!