CH 2: Journey Begins

After my old man decided to help, my life became very busy. I would get up, eat breakfast, work the fields, eat dinner, train with the old man until sundown, then I would study one of our family's few magic books before going to bed. After two weeks the old man informed me that he'd have everything ready for my departure by the end of the following week. It was at that point that we mentally prepared ourselves to face our greatest challenge yet, informing my mother about my plan to leave. 

Some might wonder what made that the hardest part of my journey, but well...let's just say that it involved a couple hours of crying, screaming, and ended with the old man sleeping on the couch for the next week. After that the old man seemed extra motivated to kick my ass during our nightly sparring sessions. I don't blame him, I'd wanna beat my ass as well, if I was in his position. After three weeks of grueling training and preparation, I was finally leaving the barony.

The old man managed to have the engine repaired on a small airship that looked like a rowboat with a small blimp on top of it, and a rear facing propeller. The boat was filled with the supplies I requested, and even had a basic guidance system on it. The system worked by setting the direction and the boat would magically correct for the boat being shifted by the wind. It's another example of the ability of magic to allow more primitive technology base to replicate much more advanced mundane systems.

There was just one last thing to do...

---

"I don't want you to go, my little boy!" My mother said as she latched onto me like some kind of parasitic limpet.

"Please dear, you know the boy doesn't have much of a choice," said my old man while trying to get my mother to let go of me.

"Please mother, if I don't leave now then I'll be at Zola's mercy to do with as she pleases."

"Noooooo! I can't lose my precious BABY!!!"

I sighed, then put on my most reassuring smile, and spoke to her in a comforting tone.

 "Don't worry mother, I'll come back as soon as I've earned enough clout as an adventurer to restrict Zola's options."

"But it's dangerous out there! You're still just a boy, surely you have some time? We will find a different way!"

I sighed. "Life waits for no man. I must seize the chance the old man's given me, or I will surely regret it."

I wrap her up in a gentle hug. 

After a few minutes she finally pulled away. "Alright, but you have to come back to us as soon as you're able! And I want letters every month, no, every week!"

I chuckle. "Sure, I'll do what I can."

I turn to Bralcus, and hold out my hand for a shake, only to by engulfed in his strong arms.

Then he whispered in my ear low enough for mom not to be able to hear him.

"Scared?"

"A little."

"Good. You're strong Leon, but not invincible. If you run into a sticky situation, run. I would rather have you come back a coward, then not come back at all."

I gave him a quick nod.

"You have my word old man."

"Old as I may be, I'm still young enough to kick your ass." He said with a rumbling chuckle.

"Sure, sure. And old man?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks...for everything. You're the best father a man could ask for."

He shot me a grin. "You're damn right I am! Took you long enough to figure it out." He said while messing up my hair with his massive hand.

I chuckled before turning to the little she demon looking at me with mixed emotions. 

"Y-you better not think about disappearing and leaving me alone," she said with a faux sneer. I rolled my eyes, then wrapped her in a big hug. I felt her instantly stiffen before relaxing. 

"Ahh, are you worried about little old me?" I looked back towards Bralcus. "Hey old man, call the healer. Finely showing concern for me, I believe she might be sick!"

I felt a small kick against my shin. I just chuckled, and ruffled Finley's hair. She glared at me with no small amount of annoyance.

I turned towards the last person who came to see me off. The smallest member of our family, and an adorable balm to my soul, Colin Fou Bartford. The little guy was sniffling, and looked like he was just about to cry. 

I kneeled down and wrapped him up in a tight hug, and the flood broke. I felt my shirt slowly dampen with his tears. 

"Ssssh. It's okay Colin."

After a a couple of minutes, the sound of crying stopped. I took that as a sign to continue.

"Listen to me little man. I have to be gone for a bit okay?"

He looked up at me with puffy red eyes.

"Why?"

"Because..." I was about to tell him that it's was the only way to survive, but then I remembered that I was talking to a small child and decided that was probably not the best answer.

"Because I'm going to become the greatest adventurer that ever lived. I'm going out to defeat monsters, gather riches, and sleep with beautiful maidens everywhere!"

Colin's eyes lit up like a lamp.

"Really?!"

I stuck my arm out in a peace sign. "Believe it!"

Colin's excited face helped me deal with the judgmental gazes of the rest of my family. I mean sure, I casually brought up being a womanizing scumbag to a kid whose not even ten years old, but come on. The kid's smiling now, isn't he?

After that, I hastily jumped into my boat and beat it. I definitely wasn't running from my mother who looked like she wanted to beat my ass... definitely not.

---

Go on an adventure they said. It would be fun they said. Man I was sure happy to see that nobody bothered to mentioned the SLOW AF TRAVEL TIMES!!! I mean seriously, I spent a week simply shooting beginner level attack spells out towards the open sky. When I ran out of magic power, I was stuck counting the oceans waves. FUCKING WAVES!!!

On the bright side, I was in the middle of nowhere, which meant that I could play with my new Spartan toys without anyone seeing them...for the first time in foreverrrrrrrr! Ahem, I mean I could finally take stock of the strategic resources at my disposal. 

First up was a classic M6D magnum pistol, though pistol is a bit of an understatement. This beast came with a total of 240 extra rounds of 12.7X40MM semi-armor-piercing-high explosive ammunition. I'm definitely going to use Luxion's factory to produce ammo for this beast of a weapon.

Next up was the gorgeous MA5D assault rifle, with an under barrel grenade launcher, a recon sight, and 1000 rounds of tungsten tipped armor-piercing rounds. The rate of rifle and magazine capacity might be shit compared to the MA5B, but the rifle's rail system and increased accuracy make MA5D my preferred. Additionally, I found a total of 10 40MM shells for my grenade launcher, alongside 5 M9 frag grenades.

Finally the company really came through for me, as I found a covenant energy sword packed in my pocket space. That baby is definitely the most dangerous weapon I posses against stronger opponents.

I was about to summon my Mjolnir armor, when decided against it. I realized that summoning a 453.5 kg (1000 lb) suit of armor on what is basically an old wooden dinghy floating 2kms (1.24 miles) above the open ocean was probably a bad fucking idea. In hind sight, that moment of consideration most likely saved my life.

A few hours later, I caught sight of a flying monster gunning it straight towards me. The thing looked like an oversized, and brightly colored northern pike with four tentacles protruding from its body that ended in sharp hooks.

Now I could've definitely taken the thing in melee combat, but that meant that I would have to get close enough to potentially damage the boat. I hope I don't need to explain why that is a really bad idea. 

I summoned my MA5D from my pocket space, checked the ammo, racked the bolt, and got ready to rock. I knelt down and supported my left arm with my knee, and set my sights on the monster. I aimed above the monster to account for the bullet dropped, slowed my breathing, flicked the selector to full auto, put my finger on the trigger, and squeezed.

Three rounds ripped from the barrel with the roar of a thunderstorm. Even at at 450M (492 yrds) I saw the rounds strike the fish-monster with the force of a vengeful god. The first round ripped through the beast's lower jaw and exited the back in a flower of black smoke. The second deviated to the right and slashed through the gills. The last round smashed straight into its skull and ended its life like a match in a rainstorm. 

The creature exploded into a cloud of black smoke upon its death. As the smoke started to dissipate I noticed a small amount of it make its way towards me, which got absorbed into my body. Thanks to Soul Talent, I could feel my magic power grow just the smallest bit, and my body felt a little stronger. I suppose this is how how scrawny Leon in the book got strong enough to knock out Serge in just a single punch, without using reinforcement magic.

One thing that I took note of was the difference between my MA5D and the rifles owned by the Bartfort family. The MA5D was able to land all three rounds on a bear sized target 450M away. That might might not be that impressive compared to 21st-century battle rifles, but compared to firearms made in Holfort? Only the most high-end of bolt-action rifles of today are capable of pulling that off.

---

After a few more days of cruising, the wind stopped and my navigator started to spin in circles, indicating my arrival at the target area. Just like OG Leon, I descended until the boat's hull hovered just above the waterline. A few minutes of just putzing around, and the whole area was bathed in a brilliant green glow.

Knowing what comes next, I cast a basic magic barrier underneath the boat to shield the hull. When I started to hear a deep rumbling sound, I braced myself. After just a few seconds the boat was launched into the air like a rocket breaking atmosphere. As it was tossed around like a ragdoll, cracks started to appear in the hull. This was inevitable, since the hull was never built to withstand this level of abuse.

Suddenly the force slamming my poor boat upwards disappeared, only to be replaced by the feeling of weightlessness as we went from soaring to falling. I could see the island with Luxion's hanger, indicated by the rundown remains of some scientific facility.

As the island grew ever closer, I fought with the controls to try and aim the boat towards the abundant trees.

With a magical barrier beneath the hull, the boat bounced across the tree top before coming to a stop upon the branches of an ancient willow tree.

"Another happy landing," I said with a smirk.

I equipped my M6D magnum and made my way down the tree. I patrolled the area around my tree to make sure that my approach hadn't attracted the attention any of the island's guard robots. 

The area I found myself in was a swampy forest with trees that probably dated back thousands of years. In such an area I couldn't help but feel small. The good news was that the only identifiable threat, if you could call it that, was a family of blue furred beavers.

I climbed back up the ancient willow, and planned my next move. The target hanger was roughly 7 km (4.35 miles) to the SSW and I had about two-and-a-half hours until sundown. I could make it there in under 15 minutes, but decided to wait until morning so that my magic power, which was largely exhausted thanks to the consecutive barriers, could regenerate back to full. 

I set up some simple can traplines to alert me to any incoming threats. I summoned my MA5D across my chest and held it in such a way that I could flick it up to engage any monster or robot that got a little too curious. After putting my backpack under my head, I quickly dozed off.

--

 AN: Sorry for the extremely late chapter, my only excuse is work kicking my in the ass. 

Not much for explanations this time around, just A note that I have no intention of dropping this novel, I'm just a slow writer. Also work has been incredibly stressful for the last few months, and it appears that will remain the case for some time.

Finally I was thinking of writing a story in Mass Effect with a greatly nerfed Inspired Inventor system (other world tech system). I am very interested in hearing what you guys think about it.

Well I hope you all have a great day, and thank you for the support you guys have shown so far!