The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 08: The Question

The hazy view from a familiar setting made me blink my eyes several times to make sure that what I saw was not a dream. From the looks of it, I seemed to be returning to my old body. Waking up from the sofa I was sitting on, I left my room in the castle. A young maid, who had been waiting for me outside, immediately greeted me with respect.

"Good morning King William."

I didn't even bother to glance at him, walking as he followed a few meters away.

Reaching the courtyard where all the trainees were lined up with swords held in front of them, I turned my attention to the instructor who was yelling at them about correct demeanor and breathing. When one of them saw me, he immediately turned around and saluted the military firmly, followed by the instructors and other trainees.

I only signaled for them to continue before continuing. Reaching my goal, I pushed the double door, arriving in front of an old man with thick white hair that was matching his long beard, and emerald eyes that shine with a cunning sense of wisdom and knowledge. He's the head of the Council, Marlo.

While I held the position of "King", I could not help but regard myself as merely a glorified warrior. What really governs the state, manages politics and the economy, is the Council

So what happened to my position as King?

The title of King meant that I was actually more than a one-man army. Due to the dwindling number of children born and the limited number of resources, the Councils of each country came together and, after months of discussion and debate, came to the conclusion that if war continued to exist, war would continue, in the end, we will destroy ourselves.

Getting rid of the war would produce two main outcomes: a decrease in the number of deaths, leading to population growth, and a decrease in the destroyed crop lands and resources from nuclear weapons. The solution they created and implemented was to replace the war with a different form of fighting.

What replaced the war known as Paragon Duels?. Whenever there was a dispute at a level that affected the state of the country, a Paragon Duel would be announced, with each country sending out a representative that they considered the most powerful.

Looking up, Marlo exclaimed with a standard fake and beautiful smile that seemed to be an inborn trait among politicians, "King William! What brings you to my humble abode?"

"I'm retired."

Without giving him a chance to react, I opened my badge, a piece of metal that every practitioner desperately sought after, and slammed it into a giant oak table, walking out the door.

What have I been doing all these years? I was an orphan raised in a camp designed to raise duels. I was twenty-eight years old, yet I never dated, never loved. I have spent my entire life up until now solely for the sake of being the strongest.

And for what…

Amazed? The money? A success?

I have all that, but never in a million years would I choose to have it than what I have in Ashber City.

I miss Samantha my mother. I miss my father Reynolds. I miss Dicky. I miss Viona. I miss Helena. I miss Angel. I miss Anton.

…mother…

…Dad…

"UHUK UHUK!"

I opened my eyes again, with towering trees and dangling vines filling my gaze as I lay on my back. However, this time, the excruciating pain I received said that I was not dreaming.

Where'sme?

How can I live from such a height?

I tried to get up, but my body didn't listen. The only thing I could control was turning my head, and even that involved a series of throbbing pains in my neck.

Looking to my right, I saw my backpack. I slowly turned to my left, grinding my teeth withstanding the pain.

My eyes widened at the sight and I immediately had to resist the urge to vomit. On my left is what's left of the sorcerer I've been dragging with me. Puddles of blood surrounded the corpse, whose body may have had more broken bones than was still intact. I could see his white ribs protruding out of his hollow chest cavity with a pile of his entrails beside him. His limbs were stretched out at an unnatural angle, with the skull of the mage crushed in the back with some brain matter flowing out along with blood.

His face froze into an expression of surprise and disbelief, except for his completely red eyes, as traces of dried blood were still visible from his eye sockets. I can't turn my head fast enough. With my already frail body attacked with a terrible sight and a disgusting smell, I spewed out what was left in my stomach until I choked.

Even in my past life, I have never found a corpse so destroyed. With the sickening stench and the insects that ate the thick blood, I inevitably felt nauseous. With part of my face and neck covered by my own vomit, I finally managed to turn my head away to rid my gaze of the remains of the strange witch.

How can I still be alive?

I don't want to wonder what happens when I'm unconscious. Obviously, the mage lived until the landing. So what happened to me?

I should have looked a lot like this corpse by now, maybe even worse, but not only was I fine, I didn't even seem to have broken a bone.

I pondered over the possible answers until I was interrupted by a strong grunt from my stomach.

Once again, I tried to get up, against the protests of my body; the only part of my body that seemed to listen to me until now was my right arm and neck upwards. I willed mana into my right arm and used my fingers to claw, drag my body, to grab my backpack. The distance might not be more than a meter, but it took me an hour until I finally managed to reach it. Pulling it closer to me, I tear it apart with my only hand that I can move, until I find what I'm looking for: dried fruit and nuts packed by my mother!

I managed to pour a mouthful of snacks that I brought just because of my mother's insistence. My throat, shocked by the sudden flood of food, responded by making me choke on a cough, leading me to another round of suffering in my body. Groping the sack of water inside my backpack, I slowly poured a bit of water into my mouth before putting a handful of snacks into my mouth. Tears ran down the side of my face and into my ears, I kept chewing on the dry rations until I fainted again, using my backpack as a makeshift blanket.

My eyes fluttered open as I woke up from a rapid cold bite. Looking around, the position of the first beam of light that pierced my mountain range at that time was dawn.

This time, I was able to wake up, but only with the help of mana. I carefully inspected my entire body, making sure everything was in place before letting myself relax.

First thing first. I walked over to the mage's corpse while trying to avoid seeing the vile wound that caused his death. Looking at the knife I was looking for, I quickly pulled it out of his thigh.

I'm not sure how long I have to be here so having a gun is very important.

"Oh, you're awake."

I immediately took a fighting position, enduring the pain of the sudden movement, with a knife in hand, turning to face the carcass.

I swear to God if this corpse speaks …

The melodious laughter made me look around to find the source of the sound.

'Don't worry.you don't have to worry about the corpse being revived.'

The voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere had a dignified, yet gentle quality that exuded a sense of nobility. It is a powerful and resounding, yet subtle and soothing voice that makes you want to believe it.

"Who are you? Did you save me?"

"Yes, for your second question. As for the first one, you will soon find out when you arrive at my residence."

This voice seemed very confident that I would try and find it.

As if reading my thoughts, he continued, "I am the only one who can take you home from this place, so I advise you to hurry."

It's jolting some understanding into me. Absolutely right! I have to go back home! Mama! Daddy's! Twin Stars! My baby sister! Are they okay? Did they reach Cyrus safely?

If that voice could really bring me back home, I would have no choice but to find it.

"Ahem, baby uhh. May I ask for directions to your location so that you can bless me with your presence?"

The voice let out another small laugh before replying, "Don't you think it's a little rude to call a woman 'Master'? And yes, I'll show you the way."

Ahh .. So it's a woman.

Soon, my vision turned into a bird's-eye view. Shrinking, the location that was roughly about a day's drive east began to look and light up before my vision returned to normal.

"I suggest you leave immediately. It would be much safer to travel during the day than it would be during the dark." Gently rebuked the voice.

"Yes Mom!" I immediately grabbed my backpack before running towards my destination.

It became less painful with each step and, by mid-morning, I only had a little pain here and there. Whatever the woman did was powerful magic. I've never heard or cast a spell that far. Or maybe he left after chanting a spell right before I landed? Then how did he know that we were falling, and why did he just save me? The more I try to solve the mystery, the more questions I get.

Hearing a faint gurgling sound, I headed in that direction, looking at the small river.

"Yeah, river!" myrag.

I'm really dirty. My face and neck still stink of stomach acid, while my clothes are torn and covered in dirt. Almost running, I cannonned into the river, vigorously rubbing my face and body. Taking off my clothes and after washing them for a while, I put them on a nearby rock to dry. After finishing the refreshing bath, I walked towards my clothes that were still wet when…

'Kukuku .. how cheery.'

Reflexively, both of my hands were shot down to cover my precious area as I bent down, trying to make my body as small as possible.

"Don't worry, there's not much to see." I shuddered as I almost felt the Voice wink at me.

So rude! My pride…

While grumbling, I almost wanted to say that my body was not developing, but I chose to ignore the Voice and put on my clothes.

'Aww. don't pout. I'm sorry, ' That voice held back laughter.

Calm your mind, Arthur. A king must be calm…

After I put on my clothes, that perverted voice seemed to fall silent. No matter too much, I rummaged through my bag and dug up the rest of my dry rations. Water won't be a problem for a while because I've just refilled my drinking water, but I'm going to need some food soon; may the sound give me something.

Looking around, I began to wonder where I was?. Since I fell from the mountain to the east, I must have been near the elf territory. I don't think I was in the Elshira Forest because I wasn't surrounded by fog. Am I in the Beast Glades? No. gabe. There are no wild beasts anywhere.I saw some rabbits and birds, but I haven't seen anything else. Something even stranger that I noticed a little before was the amount of mana in this place. It was mostly because of which wealth I was able to recover from my initial state very quickly. Although it still doesn't explain how I survived from the start, I hope the source behind the voice will tell me.

I gotta hurry.

Other than that there was no road, it turned out that this journey was quite peaceful, with few obstacles and terrain that I had to go through. As I approached the location of the sound, the density at which became richer and thicker. Ignoring the temptation to stop and absorb the surrounding mana, I ventured. Training is not important now. I gotta go home.

Since everyone might assume that I'm dead, I can't help but worry about Mom and Dad. Not physically, but for their mental health. I'm afraid Mom and Dad won't forgive themselves for my death. The only thought that comforted me was the fact that my mother was pregnant. Yep. At least for the sake of my unborn little brother or sister, they will remain strong.

I reached the area where Sound was directing me, but I could see nothing but a bunch of rocks surrounded by a bunch of trees.

'I'm glad you got here safely, ' The voice echoed confidently, as if it already knew I would.

“It's nice to meet you uhh... Mom? Miss Stone?

'I'm not a rock, or a bunch of them. There is a gap between the back of the adjacent rocks. That's where I was, ' the voice chuckled.

Looking around, I managed to find a small gap, roughly as wide as an adult, between two large stones leaning against each other. The gentle breeze coming out of the crack told me that I had found what I was looking for. If it wasn't for the Voice directing me to this exact location, I would never have noticed that small crack.

'Son. Go and enter through the gaps, but strengthen yourself with mana before you do.'

I can finally meet Mom and Dad soon!

Without a second of hesitation, I slipped through the gap easily while asking for mana to strengthen my body.

I expected a platform to be stepped on but instead, I immediately fell into a dark hole.

The voice failed to warn me that I was going to do a vertical fall.

'I guess that's why he mentioned using mana for me' is the thought that flashed through my head as I descended, shouting at the top of my four-year-old lungs.

Rubbing my ass, groaning, I slowly propped myself up.

"We finally met the child."

I felt blood flowing from my face as my mouth opened wide and eyes bulged. Feeling dizzy as my legs failed to support me, I fell back onto my aching butt, staring at the person who had been helping me all along.

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