I'm a farmer, not a hero : Chapter 26

The wasteland.

Once a dense forest teeming with wildlife, it became the barren lands that it is today after the previous demon king was subjugated and neglected by the successor, the current demon king.

Though it's called the wasteland, it is not exactly devoid of life. Not known to the common citizens of the kingdom is a city located at the heart of wasteland, where both humans and demi-humans live for the sake of trade.

Although the city was long established, it used to be only populated with beastmen and demonkins, now with human merchants and adventurers. Despite being in the wasteland, a territory under the demon king, the city remains neutral in the conflict between humans and demons; With the demon king letting it that way as he knows full well the importance of trading to his citizens.

This is why, even though it is a wasteland, a road was built for traders to follow to reach the wasteland city; a road our protagonists are following as of the moment.

"Hey, let's rest for a bit" The farmer said to the young cleric, who had been quiet since they entered the barren land.

The farmer placed his hand on the soil a few meters at the side of the road before creating a small shelter from the ground with Earth magicka. The fight with the horse general made him realize the advantage of being able to use magicka proficiently and he started practicing it whenever he could.

"Hey, you'll get sick if you continue to remain under the sun. Take a rest here!" The farmer said to the young cleric who, still silent, obliged and sat beside the farmer.

Noticing how the young cleric has been acting, the farmer asks, "What's wrong?" but she remained quiet, lost in her own thoughts.

"Hey…" She called, breaking her silence after a few minutes.

"How did you become so…" She paused for a second before continuing.

"Strong?"

She felt that "strong" was an understatement in regards to the farmer's capabilities but considering his status in their society, she couldn't call him "powerful".

The farmer pauses for a moment, recalling the events that made him what the young cleric refers to as "strong"...

"Sorry, I can't remember." The farmer replied.

No, it's not that he couldn't remember but that he doesn't fully know how he became strong. His best guess was that he gradually became strong as he tries to live on the farm; hunting wild beasts in the forest for food, fighting bandits who try to raid his farm, they were an everyday occurrence for him that he got used to.

"Why'd you ask?" He asked, trying to get to the root of her questioning to help her in some way, somehow.

"Because…" The young cleric paused to collect her courage before continuing.

"I want to be strong… I need to be strong." She said with a very serious, very determined look on her face.

"I see…" The farmer uttered.

"Why?" He added, asking with a serious face.

"What do you mean 'why?'?" She asked back with a confused look on her face.

She had assumed that he'd be more supportive as they are going to face the demon king and that obviously, she would need to be strong.

"Well, you do understand that we're probably just a few weeks away from facing the demon king right?"

"I know! That's why I need you to train me!"

"You can't just become strong after a few weeks of training, no matter how rigorous the training is… It took me years of constant fighting with wild beasts and bandits to get to where I'm at… and that is beside the training that I took." The farmer said.

"Then what is this training that you took?" The young cleric looked desperate.

"Back at the farm, farming equipment isn't always available especially when they start to break from overuse. That's why I had to do most of it with my bare hands…"

"From digging and tilling the ground, chopping down trees for lumber and breaking rocks for making a sturdy wall, to even hunting and butchering wild beasts for feed, everything was done with these bare hands…" The farmer explained.

"I see…" It was then that the young cleric recalled how he made the raft back at the swamp with just his bare hands.

"But I don't need to be that strong, I just need to be strong enough to be able to defend myself and not become a burden." The young cleric, still hasn't given up, stated.

"Okay…" The farmer said.

"It's not like I'm against it by the way, I just want to make sure that you understood the situation and not just being swayed by your emotions." He added.

"And? What if I was being swayed by my emotions?" The young cleric, acting like a teenager, said.

"Then you won't be able to endure the harsh training that I'm planning to put you through." The farmer said, in a very intimidating voice.

A cold chill ran through the young cleric's spine while wondering to herself, "What did I put myself into?".

"Don't worry, I'm not going to put you through something you can't do…" The farmer said before standing up.

He then removes the blucker and broadsword that he took from the horse general off his back and places it in front of the young cleric.

"Since we probably don't have much time 'til we reach and face the demon king, we'll need to start away…" The farmer said.

"So, you want me to start by learning to use a sword and shield?"

"No, you'll start by carrying that."

"Eh?" The young cleric looked perplexed.

"If you want to become strong physically, you'll need to start by building up your body and your stamina." The farmer explained.

"That makes sense…" She thought to herself before putting the sword and shield on her back.

The young cleric tried to stand up but was surprised when she couldn't. Though she was expecting the sword and shield to be heavy, she didn't expect it to be such a laborious task. Nevertheless, she just grits her teeth then proceeds to walk out the shelter.

Walking with a heavy load on the back is no easy task, especially under the heat of the sun. The first few hours were bearable, but after two days of walking while seeing the same environment over and over, it started to take a toll on her mental health.

"For how long am I going to do this?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Where are we even going?"

"Should I still continue?"

These are the kinds of thoughts the young cleric is having as she continues to march forward.

"Doubt is the tool the devil uses to enter your heart."

It was the advice the temple's high priestess gave the young cleric when she underwent her graduation rite, and what helped her get through it.

She understood that her resolve to become strong must not waver, that she must not give in to the devil's temptation if she wants to move forward.

A few more hours go by and the sun starts to set, but the two are still wandering around the wasteland. With no branches to use for a campfire, and their water going low, the farmer decides to use his cloak to return to his farm and restock their supplies; but not before creating a makeshift shelter with Magicka for the young cleric.

"If I can make it through that graduation rite, then I can make it through a few hours in here." The young cleric said to herself.

Every acolyte in the temple who wants to ascend into becoming either a cleric or a priest is required to undergo a graduation rite wherein they are to do seclusionary meditation in order to strengthen their mind. This is usually done in seclusion chambers with a minimal source of light and given a small amount of food and water, just enough for the acolyte to survive for the day.

It is usually when the trainee is robbed of their vision and hearing, when the devil attacks mentally; and most of them would succumb to these attacks, quitting halfway during the rite while some quit the temple.

But despite all that, the young cleric was able to go through with it, and at a very young age; hence she was revered by many as a prodigy.

And like what she did back then, she started meditating…

Listening to her own voice as she chants a prayer. It wasn't a miracle spell to buff herself but just a normal prayer to keep her mind from the voice of the devil.

And then…

She hears something, breaking her focus…

It was the sound of someone setting up a campfire outside the shelter she's in.

Thinking it was the farmer, who finally returned, the young cleric quickly stops her meditation to look outside. From the darkness, just a few meters away from her, were two people sitting in front of a campfire.

"That's weird, how long have I been meditating?" She wondered.

The young cleric slowly approached them, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation to get a good idea on what kind of people they are. After hearing them talk about their hometown, childhood, and people they knew, she judged them to be not bad people and decided to reveal her presence to them.

"Uhmm, excuse me…" She greeted.

The one in front of her turned his gaze at her calmly though whilst holding his sword, while the other one farther pointed his staff at the young cleric.

"Who are you!" The one with the staff, the mage, shouted.

"Dude, calm down…" The one with the sword, the swordsman, said.

"I'm not a bad person, see? I'm just a cleric." She said while holding out her staff in front of them.

"See? She's a cleric, you're being too paranoid again." The swordsman said to the mage.

"I prefer to be called prudent…" The mage replied.

"Are you alone?" The mage asked in an interrogating manner.

"Umm, for now… I mean, my party member… He went to get supplies." The young cleric honestly replied.

"Where is he?!" The mage continued.

"She told you, to get supplies." The swordsman mockingly said.

"I know! I'm not deaf! I mean, where would he get supplies in the middle of nowhere?!" The mage argued back.

Though they were bickering, the young cleric felt no hostility between them, like how childhood friends would.

"See? You're scaring her. This is why you're not popular with the ladies." The swordsman commented.

"Hey! I can get a girl if I want to, alright?" The mage replied.

"So, what are you doing here in the middle of nowhere anyway?" The swordsman calmly asked the young cleric.

"Uhmm… to be honest… I don't know anymore." She answered with a sad look on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The swordsman said but the mage called out to him, "Hey!", trying to warn the swordsman.

"Don't worry, if she wants to ambush us then she would've done so before revealing herself." The swordsman said.

"Tch!" The mage clucked her tongue in frustration.

"Sit here…" The swordsman said, offering the spot next to him.

The young cleric sat near the spot offered, still feeling down…

"I… Uhmm, we're on our way to do an important quest but…" The young cleric paused before continuing.

"I feel like, I'm no longer needed… I'm a cleric but I couldn't protect my previous party members, and now… I feel like I'm just dead weight to the person accompanying me… and this isn't even his quest yet he's done so much more than I." The young cleric ranted, still staring at the fire and not looking at the people she's talking to for fear of being ridiculed or shamed.

"So why are you still here? Why not just let him do this quest alone?" The mage questioned, returning to an interrogatory tone.

"I mean, you said so yourself right? You're just a dead weight to him and he's done much more than you." He continued.

"Didn't you hear her? She said that it's Her quest." The swordsman argued back.

"Sure, but… what's more important? Her finishing the quest or the quest being finished itself?" The mage retorted.

"Isn't that basically the same thing?" The swordsman argued back.

"No! It's not!" The mage cried out loud.

"Look, if the quest is as important as you claim it to be, then what are you doing to get it done?" The mage turned to the young cleric to question her.

"You said it yourself, you're just a dead weight to the person accompanying you. Then why hold him back when he's doing his best for this quest?"

"So…"

"Why are you still here?!" The mage's interrogatory tone of questioning still echoed through the young cleric's mind, as if he's telling him to just give up.

"What do you want me to say?!" The young cleric finally snapped back at the mage.

"That I'm just doing this quest for fame? For wealth? For my own self-satisfaction?! No! This quest…" She paused.

"This quest is not easy… but it's not something that I can drop just because it's too difficult for me!"

"Of course…" The mage interrupted.

"Defeating the demon king is not something a kid like you can do..." He stated.

"I know that! But if I–" The young cleric was about to give her usual speech about how important it is to defeat the demon king for peace, when she realized something.

"How did you know that?" Since she's within enemy territory, she deliberately omitted the detail of the quest. Yet, the people she's talking to seem to know about it.

She turned her gaze towards them, her eyes widened in horror as her eyes started to adjust to the light.

"You guys… No…" She uttered, with tears rolling down her cheek.

In front of her was the young hero and the young mage, her dead comrades.