Chapter One: Riding Towards the Dawn (Pt.17)

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The next day, I went to Sinderella's Song with the uneasy feeling.

Tyburn clearly said he'd help me, that probably means teaching me. Become a wizard's disciple... Sounds awesome. Although he is blind, and he is a sorcerer, he actually is able to arbitrarily dictate Balrog, he might also be versed in some kind of blind swordsmanship. I don't know whether there is blind swordsmanship such a thing on the world, but it seems often appears in stories, doesn't it? So I fully armed and went into Sinderella's Song.

On the main road in the village, finding that people fled quickly and quietly once they saw me, I sighed. Hum, anyway, when I entered Sinderella's Song, I found that Tyburn is just as usual, drinking milk.

"Tyburn! Let's go."

"Okay. Really, why are you so excited today?"

Then it's the same routine like everyday, we went to the castle first. I am with a excited look, nonetheless Tyburn is yawning, walking slowly. When we arrived the castle, the guards were as usual, finished breakfast, leaving the castle. Tyburn said:

"I said I'd help you right? Oi, Turner, is Turner here?"

Turner ran over. Tyburn heard his footsteps, said before he began:

"I have one thing to request you! Can you sort out the training ground?"

"Huh? What do you want..."

Tyburn whispered some words with Turner, Turner showed a surprised expression.

"Huh? How could..."

"Because this guy's brain, we have to do it. Yesterday you should have heard of what this guy stirred up?"

"Really. You are really eccentric. I understand."

Tyburn then crossed his arms, and began to wait. I looked at Turner blankly, and Turner looked at me with his eyes saying sorry, then said:

"No choice. Listen! All guards on the training ground, form four rows, sit down at the left side in the training ground."

"Why?"

"Mr. wizard said he is going to show you a great show."

The soldiers moved to the back with expectant faces, after the whole team sat down. Turner said:

"We're ready."

"Are you? Huchi, you go to stand in the middle of the training ground."

Although I don't know the reason, I obediently went over where he said. Wow! Really lonely. Standing in this position, every movement will draw all the attention of the people around. Tyburn nodded to this embarrassing face that he couldn't see, then he put his hands together, began to cast. What does he want to do?

"Wow, look at that!"

The soldiers are all showing amazed expression. Once Tyburn started reciting the spell, something drilled past immediately underground in front of me. The dirt bounced and popped up, small stones are splashing everywhere. I was shocked, so I stepped back. A graphic began to emerge on the ground. The graphic is a great circle, there are also other complex patterns and text inside it.

Once the graph was completed, black smoke started quacking, there is the smell of sulfur. Ah? Isn't it a show? Is he going to call Balrog again? I am staring at the graph, my eyes are almost protruding. Then the pattern started glowing, glowing in all directions like a circle, after a while, the light disappeared completely, I found a thing standing there.

That's Sanson! No, no, Ogre!

The frighteningly wide shoulder, thin waist, thighs as thick as my waist. Looks like the whole body is filled with the word "destruction". Strong physique, even if estimates carefully, it has six cubits height, the shoulder has three cubits wide. The ugly head is scarily big, but compared with the shoulder, the head looks a bit small. The weapon in its hand, can't tell it's a sword or an ax, looks like a Khopesh. A normal sword has its blade and shank separated, but a Khopesh has its body and handle made out of the same piece of iron. The destructive power of such weapons is not on their blades, but on their weight. Seems to be suitable for an ogre?

I did really think so many things in a glance. Tyburn asked Turner:

"Seems it has came out, hasn't it"

"Yes, yes, yes, you really want to summon this thing?"

"Yes. Huchi? Go."

He, he, he said what? What did that mean? Told me to go to fight a ogre?

"Ah, forgot to tell you one thing, that glove is OPG."

"OPG?"

"Ogre Power Gauntlet."

"Huh!"

God! Why didn't I think of it? I now remember one thing Karl told me:

"Nedval, monsters are different from human even on their own subjectivity. Mankind, take you as an example: Imagine one day when you go on a road, found a man with exactly the same appearance as you are, the tone of his speech is also the same. He saw you then he would be startled, and asks you who you are, then what would you feel? You might go mad. But human's mind is flexible, so after the surprise disappeared, you would probably start thinking about how this could happen. For example, you might think that you have a twin brother never met before. But monster's mind is not flexible like human. When their own subjectivity got threatened, they will blindly want to kill each other. So if you get items with monster ability it could be good thing, but at the same time it is also a dangerous thing. People with the "Heart of Salamander", they don't have worry even got spit by flame of a Red Dragon, but if they get into  Salamanders, it may be dangerous. While people with " Ogre Power Gauntlet" can compete with Golems, but once they met Ogres, they will have to fight until one side is dead."

Fighting to the death? God! That ogre is shocked, looked around, and then it started staring at me in front of it. In that moment, the ogre's temple started to wiggle.

"Gal lah lah lah... That glove!"

I will give it back to you, I am so sorry, I originally didn't know that this is OPG, which was given by that blind wizard to me. You look at that wizard, doesn't he look treacherous? Compared with him how do I look, you've probably never seen such an extremely innocent face right?

Why it doesn't say anything? The ogre seems like it has no comment, and raised its Khopesh, began roaring.

"Gung ah ah ahhhhhhhh!"

"Ty - Burn -! I -Must - Slaughter - You!"

The ogre saw me wearing OPG, didn't even ask why, started waving its Khopesh to me. This time my crotch  didn't get wet, but I pulled out my bastard sword, Actually I feel a little proud. Because the Khopesh is moving very slowly, so I could barely see it and to geared it down. Bang! Is it the sound of sword collided with sword? I feel as if all my joints are scattered.

Don't know what Tyburn is happy about, he giggled, then went into the building. What surprised me was, Turner actually just sighed a bit, and then went to sit in front of the soldiers.

"All of you just quietly stay here and watch. Pass these words to the next person."

Turner finished, and then said something to the leftmost soldier, and then they passed it accordingly. All the soldiers turned to a surprised expression, started discussing.

"Although the wizard's temperament is very weird, this is too..."

"Ah, so it means, if Huchi dies then he can't help, if Huchi survives, then he can start making guidance, right?"

"He said if Huchi is dying, then we help?"

"Yes, Huchi, in order to make us a little easier, even if you are going to die, please bring it some injuries before you die."

I am going nuts, the truly most poisonous curse emerge from my mouth:

"All of you, at the wedding night, will be - Im - Po - Tence! "

The soldiers began laughing. Damn it! The soldiers would help when I am dying? Isn't it now? The ogre is not lenient for a second, as if it's anxious to see my body divided into paragraphs, charging straight over, I hastily waved my arm to block it. From a dispassionate observer, it would be a nice show. Unfortunately, I am not a dispassionate observer, but the victim involved. Plus I still don't know how to adjust my strength, so once I fully waved my arm to the right, even my whole body would begin to turn right. Because I took these strange actions, so the ogre's Khopesh either hit an unexpected place, or blocked my sword in an unexpected place. But speaking of the feeling of the weapons colliding... If it's not OPG, my arms would have long been cut off, but now my strength is same as the ogre's.

Huh? Oh right. Our strengths are the same, aren't they?

"You piece of crap! I am as strong as you! So... Go to hell!"

"Quack!"

Wow, I am shocked. Because I saw what I've done. I am too surprised, so my whole body tensed up. I drew a beautiful wound on the ogre's waist. The ogre began spurting, it hesitated, and began to recede. If I was a little experienced soldier, I wouldn't miss this moment, but would rush to finish it, but I just lost my soul and wildly standing there.

"Huchi! Come on! Charge now!"

Because of the soldiers' cry, I suddenly returned to sanity. But the ogre has also set its posture, pointed its sword at me. Aw, what a shame! I have no choice, only can act like it, pointed my sword at it, and entered a state of confrontation. We casually waved our weapons for a while, then the battle entered the second stage. The ogre and I are very carefully moving our steps, began to walk around a circle. Certainly the ogre is more careful, I am just with a crying face, moving in the opposite direction of the ogre. But if we take away my face, this is still a very exciting scenes. Soldiers said admiringly:

"Nice! This footwork is pretty good huh?"

"Your feet should stick more closely to the ground, walk like sliding!"

I chest almost exploded with anger.

"Don't just sit there and move your mouths, come and help me, you are all murder accomplices!"

"Hey, did a dog bark? Or chicken?"

"Because of Tyburn's request, we can't help you. When you are going to die, we will go to help."

"Hey, we should decide, if Huchi unfortunately died here, who is going to notice Jamini? Why don't we ballot?"

"Ah! No. I am always the worst luck in ballots!"

Are these guys human? I swear to Helkanes, if I don't die, I will definitely not let these soldiers away! No, should I do it now?

"Hey, Ogre my friend. I have to go to deal with those soldiers first, I'll come back and play with you, okay?"

The ogre's answer to my proposal, is raised its Khopesh aloft and chopped down heavily. Ha! I'm well prepared for this! I mean, I have determined to make use of the fact that "As long as my arm waved, my body would turn". So I swang my sword upward from the bottom, bounced off the sword of the ogre, followed the momentum to do a backflip, again strike upward from the bottom. The ogre was afraid of it's chin getting cut by my sword, quickly stepped back. Why is my sword so short!

"Wow!! Awesome, Huchi!"

I gasped and moved back. In fact, even I've already done it, I'm still very doubtful about the move. Did I really do it? But the evidence immediately emerged. My lower back is pain like it's broken.

"Woo... This is really not kidding."

Once waist is paralyzed, the whole body can't move. But ogre's chin almost got cut off, so though it's very angry, it doesn't dare to rush in. It seems to find that if its slow sword can't strike me in one hit, it will be in danger. The ogre started to measure the distance. Ah! This is bad, its arms are much longer than mine! If it's given a proper distance, it will even be more unfavorable to me. If this's the case, then I will take the initiative to grab the distance suits me!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

I'm charging straight forward. If I can get over its sword, that's within the length of the ogre's arm, it won't be able to do anything to me. Didn't Sanson do this when he was fighting the trolls? I am readily waving my sword, rushing forward.

But that guy is much more experienced than me. Woo, shit, its foot suddenly kicked me. My stomach was kicked by a leg thick like a column of the castle, so I flew back. Rolling on the floor, in my eyes, emerged the backlit shadow of the ogre jumping up to sky. Looks like it wants to slash down with the momentum. But at this moment.

"Go to hell!"

No matter how strong it is,  it's difficult to move the body in the air. So I straightened my back, stabbed my sword straight upward.

"Goo Woo!"

Before the Khopesh split my head, I utilized its falling force to pierce its abdomen. The ogre's mouth began to bleed. I did it!

But even the ogre has been stabbed, it still raised its sword. Ah!

"My sword is stuck in its stomach. What are you still doing there? Save me now! Ah, no time!" 

The ogre made a strange cry, slammed the Khopesh down.

"Jamini - !"

Goodbye, those, compared to close, I rather say foes-like, friends. Goodbye, my, compared to beloved I rather say appalling, 17 years of life. Goodbye, my candle pot. Now, who else would get you polished shiny? A candle maker should live like a candle maker, why ran to be a disciple of  a wizard... I am now experienced with death, I can tell you, the so-called death is... Huh? Jeering by soldiers, sitting on the ground blankly?

I still maintain the posture of stabbing my sword to the sky, sitting in the central of the training ground confusedly. The soldiers began rolling on the floor and laughing. Turner laughed and said:

"Oh, oh, boy. That's fake."

So-called fake means that's not real, if it is not real, then it is fake...

"Illusion!"

Plop, I threw myself on the ground. Tyburn! Tyburn! This damn old man, actually tricked me! Ah, I feel so unfair! It's dead unfair! The soldiers started to make real fun of me.

"You heard that? 'Jamini -!' That's so cool."

"Sure. Aw, really envy. Whose name should I shout when I'm going to die? Mom?"

"Oi, Huchi. You shouldn't shout like that at the time. In fact you should learn the knights who say:" The noble lady who owns the key of my soul, Jamini!"

I blinked, and stood up. The soldiers' laughter gradually stopped. After a while, these soldiers looked at me with uncomfortable eyes.

"Huchi?"

I made the most scary face I could make.

"Now you are going to try, whose name you will shout when you're going to die!"

Charge! The soldiers started running in the training ground, and I am chasing them grimly. But the soldiers are still at ease while escaping, keep making fun of me.

"Jamini! Your knight is coming to kill us. Help!"

"Wahhhhh! I will never let you escape! "

Why doesn't OPG accelerate the speed of a person running? In that morning I finally realized, to catch up a soldier who practice running everyday, is not a easy task!

Chapter One: Riding Towards the Dawn (Pt.16)

We went to the tragedy scene caused by Balrog, collected the taurens corpses to incineration, and packed up their weapons. The taurens' poleaxes for human are a bit too huge, so we'll probably only keep a few as trophies, and put the rest to the furnace to melt and reuse. The tauren bodies are very large, so they burnt for a while, until almost every villagers visited, the fire was finally completely extinguished.

By the way there is one good thing: I became a hero in the eyes of the youths in the village. I don't know how the news spread out, anyway, I have became a warrior who risked his life to protect Tyburn, when he was casting a spell and totally vulnerable. Never mind, this is not wrong. But even if the sun rose from the west, it's impossible for me to block ten poleaxes flying like raining, isn't it a matter of course? (Do I have ten arms?) However, people listened believe these words.

Jamini suddenly entered a state of emergency. The girls want to get close to me all day, so Jamini always put on a distressed face, kept following me. In fact, I don't have any spare time to spend on those girls around.

"What should I ask from Tyburn? Tell him to make a candle making magic machine?"

"Huchi... that sucks, right?"

Jamini's right. Ah, this really is a problem. Although Tyburn promised to achieve one of my wishes, what wish should I tell him? Jamini presented her views.

"Don't think too much. What about money?"

"Money? No. That sounds not handsome enough. How can there be a warrior rescued princess asks for money?"

"That's just stories."

"Not good. Anything else? Ask him to turn my sword into a magic sword?"

"That's just stories too. Why would you need a magic sword?"

"Huh? Is that so?"

I thought about it, even if I had a magic sword, looks like I would have nothing in particular to do with it. I am only a future candle maker of Heltant fief, will probably take over father's seat, and continue to pay candles to the thane and his descendants. If bad luck, I might get married with Jamini, and will later teach my children to make candles, and spend the rest of my life like that. In any case, there is no room for a magic sword.

"Ahhh! Don't know, just tell him to make my strength stronger!"

Jamini looked at me with a puzzled expression. I shrugged and said:

"If with big strength, isn't that very convenient? No matter moving things or delivering candles will be easy, there should be no harm at all right? Even if that's not the case, I just feel that doing push-ups is too annoying."

"But... This seems too animal."

"Really? So? Aren't you an animal?"

"What do you mean?"

I find it very annoying to keep thinking, so now I've came up with a pretty good idea, I began to feel very happy. Then I ran to Sinderilla's Song with Jamini, to find Tyburn sitting there. Tyburn heard my wish, first he laughed for a while.

"What's the reason?"

"Good for moving things, good for work too."

Tyburn heard my reasons, laughed for another while again. What's so funny? Tyburn laughed so hard that his tears almost flown out,  then called me to bring his bag over. I gave him the bag, he opened it and began rummaging inside. Tyburn was just relying on his fingertip tactile, easily found the thing he was looking for.

"Take it."

While he was speaking, he put a pair of strange shaped gloves on the table. What is this? I thought he would give me some magic drugs, how would he give me gloves? The gloves are made of black leather, and the upper part of the back of the hand is linked with the palm part with silver metal rings, they wrapped the surface without any gap. Besides the back and palm linked by the metal rings, the other parts allow free activities. Looks like it's unlike Knight's iron gloves which is very inconvenient for activities. Everyone around are watching curiously, I put the gloves on.

I don't feel any difference. I tried to clench my fists and then relaxed, but besides the feeling of wearing gloves, there was nothing special. I asked Tyburn:

"What is this? Looks like nothing is different after wearing it?"

Tyburn laughed, asked Jamini to bring a firewood from the heap in the tavern corner. Jamini handed a firewood to Tyburn, Tyburn immediately gave it to me, said:

"You try to pull it from both sides."

What does this mean? Not asking me to hack, but to pull. I am confused, then took the firewood, pulled from both sides. The firewood was actually immediately broken into two parts.

"Eeee?"

Auntie Hanna said admiringly. I can't believe what I've just done, so I am looking at the two firewood pieces on my hands.

"This, this, how is this possible?"

"Hehe, try to clench you fists now."

Tyburn said. I blankly spent some power on my hands. Snapp! The firewood was instantly broken into pieces like toothpicks. I crushed the wood into these toothpicks.

"Huh?"

Jamini said admiringly. Everyone around with an incredible expression came to see those small firewood sticks. One of a drinker with a puzzled expression, gave me his bronze cup.

"Huchi, this, try to pull it from both sides."

"No!"

Auntie Hanna wanted to stop me, but it was too late. I've already pulled the cup into two halves. To tear this bronze cup, is just as easy as cuting apples. The drinkers who saw this instantly turned to a surprised expression, began to forcibly pull their cups. No way, wine cup is not a piece of cloth, it's absolutely impossible to split it into two halves. It might be possible to drop or use a hammer to knock, to make it deflated, but it is absolutely impossible to correctly divide it into half.

But I did it!

"How is this... This is monster skin like gloves..."

"You have to remember, this can only increase your physical strength. It has nothing to do with health or energy. So even if you are wearing it, there is no way to please all those girls."

I made a face of disappointment, immediately got pinched by Jamini. Jamini immediately desperately shouted:

'Tyburn!"

"Okay okay I know. Anyway, this is like what Huchi you said, it's good for moving things. From now on, your arm strength is strong enough to pull out the heart of a live bear, so be careful. Don't be stupid enough to grasp bread  into powder, and leave yourself starved. Remember to take them off when you eat. "

"Ah, yes... But this is a very precious thing, isn't it?"

"No matter how precious is it, can it be compared to my life? Don't feel any burden, just take it."

"You tell me to take it? You won't take it back right? In the name of Upinel..."

"And Helkanes, I swear. Okay? Ah, really, although I promised a lot of people to achieve their wishes, someone telling me such a ridiculously pure wish, this is really the first time."

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"Let me help!"

"Then thank you!"

"Do you need some help?"

"Here! This is it!"

I started running around in the village, helping others with my great strength. From moving trees to installing pillars in construction site , as well as drawing water from wells, I helped on everything.

But I haven't learned how to control my strength. When I wanted to pick up a wood, the wood was grapped into pieces. They called me to insert the pillars into the ground, I plugged, the whole pillar was buried under the ground, we couldn't even see it anymore. I wanted to draw water, once I pulled the rope, the bucket was like jumping up, flew up too high, and the water was splashed on the people all around.

"Huchi! I beg you, can you please stop wearing that pair of gloves?"

This request is too harsh for me. Actually telling me to stop doing such a fun thing. But one time, I wanted to coax a crying baby, I just gently lifted him into the sky, he flew to heaven like a hundred cubits high, and I finally managed to catch the baby, the result was almost got murdered by his mother. After this incident, I had to take off the gloves unwillingly.

"Poof Ha ha ha!"

On that night, Tyburn laughed loudly inside Sinderilla's Song. Because I sadly reported to him what happened on that day. The drunkards beside are also laughing.

"Gosh, this joke is killing me. Hee hee hee hee hee!"

Tyburn looks even want to roll on the floor. I said angrily:

"Can't this stuff adjust its strength?"

"Dude. Adjusting strength has to be experienced by yourself. If someone increase his strength through training, he will learn how to adjust his strength during the training. But you got such a great strength without any effort, so it would be tough for a while."

Hmm. That sounds reasonable. I nodded.

"I can understand. But the problem is, If I want to experience how to adjust my strength, then I should continue using my strength, but every time I use it, something will always go wrong."

"You lad, because you're brain-dead, so you kept doing those things which would go wrong. Really can't take you. If this goes on, the whole village will be destroyed by you, I'll start helping you from tomorrow."