Chapter 17: Uladia Forest [1] - The Deal

"You! None of the other kids are worthy of fighting me but you! You are strong! I can smell it. Fight me!" Nymira grinned from ear to ear with genuine excitement.

And that's when it clicked for Silas too... He understood the resemblance almost instantly.

She was like him...

Silas talked about motivation as if it was a primary factor of growth, but that simply was not the case. He was overlooking the fact that he reached the peak of humanity in his other life without a real motivation.

Nymira thrived off the feeling of battle. Her motivations were secondary to her desire to become stronger and fight the best. One might call it a motivation too, but Silas thought otherwise.

Desires, goals, motivations... They seem quite interchangeable on the surface, but every single one of them meant something different.

A goal is something you strive toward, motivation is something that pushes you toward your goal, and a desire...

Well, a desire is the burning feeling you get in your stomach and chest when you want to do something. It is a hunger...

An insatiable hunger for a certain thing, whether it leans toward helping you reach your goal, or working to find your motivation...

'To thrive off the battle.' Silas thought to himself.

She seemed like the kind of person who would laugh in the face of danger and smile while slaughtering a battlefield. Or at least in her later years. For now, she was just a child, but if trained right, she would most likely become a pillar of the kingdom.

'I can make this work in my favor.'

Silas grinned, but he made sure to cover his mouth before doing so to make it seem like he was in thought.

He felt excitement just like Nymira, but his excitement was for a completely different reason.

"Let me down." Silas tapped on his grandmother, who was still stunned by the fact that her grandson had suddenly been called out in front of the entire town.

However, she did as he asked, almost on autopilot.

Silas walked forward, making everyone part the path before him to let him through.

Looking into her eyes, Silas smiled politely.

She was quite a bit taller than Silas, yet he still felt like he had the advantage in this situation.

Her excitement seemed to only increase as she looked into his eyes. It was like she could smell the battle.

'Oh... I guess she can smell the battle, or at least I assume that's how her blessing works.'

"My name is Silas Skylark." Silas bowed slightly, showing everyone that he had good etiquette and was well-educated. Of course, his family didn't really deserve any credit for his manners, but no one needed to know that.

"Nymira Farlane. They call me the most talented, best up-and-coming swordsman of the county.

'We have counties?' Silas thought with surprise, noting to himself that he should probably try and learn more about the kingdom and this world rather than focusing primarily on magic.

"How about this." Silas smiled wryly.

"Give me a year and a half, and I'll fight you then."

"Huh?! Why do I have to wait so long! You're strong now, so let's fight now!" She complained in a fashion that befitted a child.

'She might be the kind of person to have gotten everything she wanted in the past... Maybe she needs a little bit of humbling?' Silas thought to himself, unable to see the irony in the situation.

"Well, you're already so much older than me; shouldn't you at least give me a chance to reach an appropriate age?" Silas asked, not at all sounding like a child, but that was the point.

Silas didn't have toki going for him, and when he awakens, he would probably avoid showing more than necessary. He didn't want to draw attention to himself before reaching a certain level of strength.

However, at the same time, Silas wanted to increase his reputation among the town's folk by showing them his intelligence at his young age, so it wouldn't be too surprising if he became a genius mage in the future.

After all, since the best mages were usually scholars, wouldn't showing the town his exceeded intelligence work in his favor in the future?

At the same time, he wanted to overwhelm his opponent to a certain extent, so the next step of his plan worked.

One might call it overkill, but he wanted everything to go as planned, causing him to essentially force the conversation to move in the desired direction.

When looking at the girl before him, he could see that she was unconvinced by his excuse, so he decided to attack something that he assumed he would have in common with her.

"Or are you too scared that a child significantly younger is going to best you in battle?" Silas taunted with a grin while speaking in the noblest tone he could muster.

"Wha-?"

"Is the almighty Nymira scared of a 5-year-old child?" Silas pointed at her, causing her to flush in embarrassment and anger simultaneously.

"Okay, okay! Let's fight in a-..." She paused to count her fingers.

"In a year and half!" She announced with a flushed face.

'Oldest trick in the book... Though, I do still feel the tingly sensation of self-cringe at the back of my neck.' Silas sighed.

"The winner gets three favor from the loser, redeemable at any time," Silas suggested with a certain gleam in his eyes.

"Why would I-..." She sniffed the air and couldn't help but scrunch her face into one of dissatisfaction.

"One favor."

'Checkmate.'

"Sure." Silas shrugged. He was going to ask for one anyway. He couldn't help but feel like he was extorting a child, so he reduced it to one. Of course, he knew he would regret it in the future, but he had too many morals.

'Pft-... Morals.' Silas did his best to stifle his laughter.

"Then, I'll see you in 6 seasons." Silas bowed slightly before turning around, taking his grandmother's hand into his own, and walking away from the town's square.

'Like taking candy from a child-... Nevermind.'

However, Nymira had a different thought in mind.

'Why does he smell like...' She tried to remember the smell before completing her thought.

'Blood?'

***

The sun was setting on the horizon as Keira and Silas strolled home. It was a long day, and a lot had happened, but in the end, Silas felt satisfied with everything he had done.

'I'm not nearly as strong as she is, physically speaking. She was incredibly powerful, and her small body allowed her to move like the wind and use her techniques with amazing precision.

In her current state, she would have definitely killed those two intruders from a year back with ease if they were against her. Of course, I'm much stronger than I was back then, but I have no way of beating her with fusion magic. My best bet is to beat her with elemental magic,' Silas thought while nodding to himself with a certain level of self-satisfaction.

"Why did you do that?" Keira asked with a slightly dark expression.

"What do you mean?" Silas asked, acting like he didn't see anything wrong with his actions.

"She's the most talented swordsman in the town. Even your sister would be easily disposed of if she went against Nymira. Do you understand what you've done?" She asked with a slither of anger.

Being a mature grandson might have had many advantages, but in a situation like this, it also meant that the adults around would see you as an adult rather than a child.

"Don't worry. You heard what she said... I'm the strongest." Silas grinned, mostly to himself, yet the grin only made his grandmother's blood boil.

"Do you not understand what you've done?! Of course, you don't. You're a child; why would you know? I should have stopped you. You have no idea what your loss might do to the Skylark name." She gritted her teeth.

"Oh?" Silas replied, clearly not caring about anything the Keira was saying. In Silas' eyes, she was a child having a tantrum, but he was still trying to understand where she was coming from.

"We're a pretty small family; I don't get why you're getting all worked up." Silas sighed before grinning.

"Plus, I wouldn't be too worried about that girl... What was her name again? Nymira? She won't stand a chance against me."

His grandmother looked at him for a few moments, yet after clenching her fists for over 10 seconds, she finally sighed and looked away.

"You'll understand when you're older." She said nothing else, but just by looking into her eyes, Silas understood what she was trying to say.

"You think I'm talentless, right? That I'll never awaken an aptitude to either mana or toki, right?" Silas asked, getting straight to the point.

"What? No, of course not-"

"Save it, grandma." Silas sighed, forcing himself to say grandma instead of Keira. "I know how you all feel. I observe you guys all the time, and its not like you guys are the best at controlling your expressions." Silas smiled.

"I... I'm sorry. It's just that-" Silas raised a hand and cut her off before she could speak further.

"Grandma... I don't need you guys to believe in me. I don't need to you to think of me highly, or to even spare my feelings. Just know that I will prove you wrong." Silas' aura completely changed, making him look like a man who had seen the world's darkest colors rather than a child who hadn't even reached the age of 5 yet.

The shift was so sudden that it left Keira frozen in shock. What had happened to her young and innocent grandson?

"I just hope you don't treat the situation the same way when my younger brother or sister come around." Silas smiled again and began to walk faster than his grandmother.

His words were quite cryptic, yet for some reason, she felt like they meant something...

***

And just like that, 4 weeks passed by in what felt like the blink of an eye.

Silas stood in front of some woods with an axe in his hand as his eyes glowed green, peering through the trees to see what kind of dangers awaited him.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Silas whispered to himself.

Before him was the Uladia forest, and according to the books he had read on monster locations in the kingdom, it was the most monster and beast-populated area in the entire county.

However, he needed to get stronger, so he was going to do exactly that.

"I sure do hope I don't die again." Silas sighed before stepping into the forest, completely unaware of the dangers that lurked within.

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