Prologue - Sudden Attack?

Sawyer wakes up to the sound of marching footsteps quite a distance away.

This was due to him being a Warrior who had his experience in combat situations, therefore making it possible for him to hear the attackers approaching before he could actually see any sign of them.

"I wonder who's come looking for trouble this time"

Sawyer says this aloud to no one in particular.

From the outside, he appears calm as a summer breeze, but internally, he struggles to keep his mind from pacing.

He had no doubts that the men soundly marching straight towards him at the 6th hour of darkness would most definitely have bad intentions, as previous experience has taught him well.

The only thing he could do now was prepare for the inevitable fight that would see many people perish, in a gruesome splendor of death.

He only hoped his power would be enough to overcome the adversities he was about to face.

Hearing the marching sounds grow louder each minute, Sawyer decided it was time to put his plan into motion.

Armed with his two trusty daggers; well he called them daggers, but in reality they were short swords.

As for his armor, he preference for speed led him to wear a black leather armor which cover basically his whole body.

While the armor he wore might appear regular to anyone else, Sawyer knew the real secret.

This armor he wore had actually been blessed by a God from the 9th Realm.

If anyone knew how special his armor was, he would have died a long time ago, with the amount of beings who would lust for such a precious blessed artifact.

Taking one last glance around at his surroundings before setting out, suddenly he bursts off, moving swiftly and silently through the darkness.

His power level had given his access to the 1st Class Night-Sight scroll at the Academika Foundation; therefore he could still see around him to a distance of roughly 25 meters.

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All these thoughts were occurring to Sawyer quite quickly, as only a minute had actually passed while travelling towards his enemies.

While Sawyer is thinking over the best course of action, suddenly from his left, a throwing knife comes flying towards him, moving with incredible speed.

The person who threw the blade must be a fairly powerful Ranger, for it to move at such speeds, making it seem as the knife would disappear then reappear in the air, giving off a Mirage effect.

Moving at such a high speed towards him, Sawyer could only face the unseen attackers blade front-on, as there was no chance to dodge.

Raising both of his daggers up and crossing them across each other to form a deflective force, while channeling his Mystic Essence to form a thin defensive membrane around his body, as a means to survive if the blade somehow passed his defensive formation.

In just the blink of an eye that it took for the blade to appear before him, Sawyer had already fully prepared for it's arrival.

Just before the throwing blade collides with his sword, a sudden burst of energy controls the blade causing it to move slightly to the left of Sawyer's defense.

This catches him off-guard and allows the blade to pass his outer defense with ease, leaving only his Mystic Essence layer and armor to protect him.

Muttering something unintelligible under his breath, Sawyer is frustrated by his own overconfidence, but now all he can do is increase his energy output to strengthen the defensive membrane over his body, before the blade can impact.

The blade collides into his defenses at such incredible speeds, that he is knocked back by the sheer force it produced, instantly shattering his layered defense from existence before continuing into his body armor.

To his own surprise, the blade has actually pierced into his armor, causing it to stab lightly into his chest before the force had been fully expanded.

This shocked Sawyer, as no weapon had ever damaged his Blessed armor like this before.

With no time to fret over such matters, Sawyer had to focus so he could determine the location of the unseen attacker(s) at hand.

Looking around him with the assistance of the Night-Sight ability he had activated when setting off, Sawyer could make out the area around him to a distance of roughly 25 to 30 meters.

He was scanning back and forth, over the location where the throwing blade had come from, trying to make out any signs of life that might remain hidden, or any areas that showed signs of disturbance.

Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, Sawyer decides to approach the location of the attack while moving at a cautious pace, as to not miss any sudden movements from behind any of the nearby trees where enemies might be waiting, as they provided the perfect spot for an ambush.

Creeping his way forward he sensed something out of place near a tree about 15 meters in front of him, prompting him the grip his swords even tighter, before realizing his flaw and relaxing his muscles.

He began to channel his Mystic Essence, preparing to form the defensive layer to help defend against any sudden attacks. Already in battle stance, to avoid being caught off guard by the ambush that surely lies ahead, waiting for him the step into the mouse trap.

Having made up his mind not to flee unless in life-threatening danger, Sawyer decides to continue moving forward, towards the location, while staying at-the-ready for any assault.

After walking only 5 meters towards the point he was approaching, Sawyer saw the shadow from the enemy in waiting, behind the tree 10 meters away.

It was sticking out slightly past the shadow of the tree itself, giving him the opportunity to spot it before getting to close.

With no prompting at all, the attacker hiding in the shadows steps out in front of Sawyer, as if knowing his ambush plan had been ruined.

The figure was clear to see, standing there less than 10 meters away.

He, like Sawyer was easily recognized as a Warrior, given their bulky figures built through years of training the muscles. This man was a step above most though, making even Sawyer look puny in comparison.

He was wearing a set of steel armor that looked like it could crush an ordinary man, and equipped with a massive great-sword, held lazily in one hand.

While in the other hand he was clutching the handle of a massive steel Kite-shield.

Sawyer was able to easily deduct that this man was not the one who attacked him earlier with the throwing knife, as only a highly skilled Ranger would have the abilities to cause that much damage with such a weapon.

Sawyer called out to the mammoth of a man, asking him simply.

"Where is the Ranger scum who came with you?"

A loud rumbling sound came from the man, presumably a laugh before he responded back.

"Tiny man?..no friend of Mighty Kelthor!!...no more talk...DIE!"

The voice came out thick and unintelligent but Sawyer could make out the sounds.

Seems like this giant was called Kelthor and he was not someone to make friends with.

Obviously a man of few words, Kelthor charges forward while exuding an ominous Mystic Essence which gave off a seemingly demonic aura.

Moving at such a high speed shocked Sawyer, given the size of his opponent.

With barely any time at all to prepare himself, Sawyer channeled his essence to once more form into a thin defensive layer that wrapped around his entire body.

This was all he could do in the time he was given, due to Kelthor's sudden attack.

His opponent held his great-sword over his head, ready to launch a powerful blow in a moments notice while continuing him offensive charge towards Sawyer.

Right when there was only a distance of twenty meters between the two combatants, Sawyer reaches over to his left wrist and pull a hidden blade from a compartment located there.

Instantly whipping his arm back, he takes aim and fires the blade towards his charging opponent.

At such a short distance there is no chance for a reaction and the blade stays true to it's target, lodging itself in the chest of Kelthor.

The giant looks down at the newly acquired wound on his chest, with blood instantly flowing from the injury making for a messy scene.

Kelthor lifts his head from accessing the wound with a evil grin appearing on his face.

"Mighty Kelthor...make puny hooman...BLEED!"

As he finished booming the last word out, Kelthor continues his charge towards Sawyer, seemingly unhurt by the damage done.

Frustrated by the lack of time he acquired with his sneak attack, Sawyer has no choice by to meet this attack head on, with no time to make a run for it.

He raises both of his swords, with sweat dripping from his hands in anticipation to defend against the wrecking force of an attack he was about to encounter.

The moments felt like the passing of years in the mind of Sawyer, who was nervously awaiting his attacker, with thoughts of death at the front of his mind.

No matter how strong the man was, knowing there was a high chance he was about to die was hard to face in reality.

The memories of successes and accomplishments, failures and regrets, family and friends, lovers and enemies flashed right before his eyes as Kelthor was arriving in front of him, sword crashing down towards him.

In the last moment of his life before closing his eyes for eternity, he sees that massive sword just centimeters from his neck, ready to separate his head from the rest of his body.

Eyes closed already and accepting his fate, hearing all sound stopped and feeling the blade at his neck. Sawyer opens his eyes to look at the afterlife around him when he is shocked to see the figure of Kelthor frozen still standing in front of him, sword plunged towards his neck ready to decapitate Sawyer. It is at this time when he hears a calm, soothing voice with a hint of grasp.

"It is not your time yet child, I grant you one chance to go back hence you came.

One chance to relive you life while keeping the memories of the life that came before.

Learn from the mistakes you've made, and do not readily repeat them in the future, as I won't be there to save you from your dooms."

Turning his head to see a short figure dressed in the fashion of a Ranger.

He had high cheeks and strong facial features, with dark hair and some light stubble on his chin.

Overall he was quite the attractive figure, at least Sawyer assumed he was.

His clothing was the clear mark of a Ranger and even if it wasn't a dead giveaway to his abilities, the well-crafted recurve longbow on his back definitely was.

Never one lacking courage, Sawyer now asks the man.

"Who are you? What do you mean go back?"

Sawyer was truly stumped, what this man was saying sounded out of this world.

Surely he must be mistaken.

The ranger laughed at the look of confusion showing on Sawyers face before proceeding to say.

"Ah, excuse myself. My birth-name is Keylin, but those who know me call me K.

As for go back, you will be sent back to the days of your childhood, to forge a greater path then the one before.

Of course, you'll only remember this as if it was a dream.

Right, enough of this talk for now, I have some pressing matters to attend to....off you go".

Before Sawyer could even begin a reply to the mysterious Ranger, a flashing light appeared before his eyes and shortly thereafter, all he could see was darkness.