Alaric's POV:

 

I fell to my knees as a cold chill struck down my spine.

There was just silence from the crowd as they gazed upon the murder. 

“M-murderer!” one of the women from the crowd cried

The ref waved off the crowd. 

“It’s legal…”

“It is legal… but the other man clearly had lost when he was stabbed in the gut! He would’ve surrendered!” Otis shouted

I didn’t pay attention to the shouting. 

There were two things that absolutely baffled me. 

One of them was that the crowd didn’t look completely stunned.

It was obvious they’ve all seen dead people before, especially with the diseases and disputes in this town with no law enforcement. 

Sure, they were arguing that it was unnecessary to kill the man, but they didn’t seem too perplexed. 

This made me realize that death may be too common here.

The other thing was that this was the first dead person I’ve ever seen. 

Not just in this new life, but in my previous one, too.

I’ve seen dead bodies on the internet, and my neighbor even hung herself.

But I’ve never actually seen a dead body, better yet, someone dying. 

The sight shot my body cold almost like the moment I was hit by the truck.

I was speechless.I didn’t feel afraid, but I felt dismayed. 

After a long whiplash between the crowd and the ref, the crowd dispersed.

Otis and I followed the crowd back into the town and back home. 

On the way back, Otis asked me not to tell Ceday. 

“I won’t.”

Since that day, Otis hasn’t talked to me about the incident. 

Otis thought that training was a good idea to get it off our minds.

Obviously, the incident stuck to me.

I didn’t weigh down on it so much, though.

If this was the life I had to live in, I would just have to adjust. 

Otherwise, I would die, too.

Maybe not in the same fashion as that guy, but being reckless could mean the end of me.

__

A whole year has passed now, and I’ve been starting to realize how time was flying faster by the year. 

The Dunwich’s guard had died in a previous match, and the playoffs were to start very soon.

I didn’t think Dunwich’s guardian would have mattered now, though, because we were definitely out of the playoff contention. 

Dunwich was dry of good warriors. 

However, it was common for Dunwich’s people to be able to use some magic.

This was what made Dunwich special, and slowly, people from neighboring towns moved here.

If just one Dunwich’s guardian could win it all, our town would flourish.

I would do something if I could, but all I could do is sit on my bum and exercise my mana. 

Speaking of which, I was doing just that as I waited for Ceday to leave for the bath houses like she usually does every Wednesday and Sunday. 

The bath houses have become the Dunwich’s women’s favorite places to go.

Ceday was also quite the extrovert.

It would only be natural for her to frequently attend such a place.

To add to his, one thing that really had me questioning though is why she never really worked. 

I wanted to ask, but I kept telling myself that maybe women with children are required to stay and tend to their homes and kids.

Ceday peeked around the doorway outside, waving me goodbye.

I waved back and curled my toes tight, waiting for her to leave.

As soon as she left, I marched to my latest favorite hangout.

It was a prairie beneath a hill far down the road.

I’m surprised I missed it on my travels scouting around town, playing with animals, and hearing stories from seniors.

I was lucky enough to meet seniors who used to be adventurers or failed merchants. 

They told me all about the Gedo kingdom, the kingdom we live in, and its prosperous cities.

The city nearest to Dunwich is Rodby city, also known as The City of Beginnings due to it raising a lot of successful legends, especially magicians due to its renowned Academy of Magics.

When I reached the hill, I scanned the area.

There was a calm breeze that gently brushed against my face, and in the distance I could hear townspeople chattering. 

The grass leaned to the direction of the gentle wind. 

There were a few bugs fluttering around flowers and grass.

In the corner of my eye, I see something that I hoped would just be a monstrous large bug.

My hopes ceased as I scanned the entity more thoroughly 

It was a tall, brawny looking kid with orange wavy hair sitting in the tall grass.

He seemed to be talking to someone, and I peered over the grass by getting on my toes to find other kids sitting with him.

They look my age. This is bad. I should leave.

I’ve lost all my social skills (if I even had any) from my previous life.To add to this, I hate kids.

It’s been years since I’ve actually interacted with someone other than my parents.

My heart was racing in anxiousness. 

I didn’t know if my heart could beat any faster, but that was put to the test when one of the kids hollered towards me.

“Hey! Hey you! Hi!” a childish voice shouted towards me from the tall grass.

I had my back halfway turned to the group of kids, and my head was already facing back towards the town.

I wanted to just pretend I didn’t hear him or that I thought he was talking to someone else.

However, a kid was already running up the hill towards me.

I had no escape.

I turned to the kid as he shrugged on my shirt quite violently.

He was significantly shorter than me, and he had this bossy, smug look on his face. He had black, slick hair and was pretty thin. 

I’ll just tell him I have to get home or I’ll be in trouble. It’s just another stupid kid.

“Wanna hang out with us?” This kid had a high pitched voice. It annoyed me very much.

Alright, as easy as “Sorry, I can’t.”

“Sure”

Fuck. 

“Cool! Cmon’.”

I gave out an awkward laugh. Luckily, the kid didn’t pay much mind to it as he took hold of my hand.

Disgusting. Sweaty. Annoying. Small- I hate small kids. They always bark the most.

He led me down to his friend group of three kids sitting in a circle. 

The kid stuck out his chest and proudly pointed at it. 

“I’m Alard Carey, this town’s next greatest guardian.”

“Oh…” I was visibly disturbed, though no one payed much mind to it.

Town’s Guardian…

“I’m Alaric Grimald.” I reluctantly called as if I were being checked for attendance. 

A kid my height with short brown hair stood up very stiffly. .

“I’m Zane.”

Zane sat back down. 

Just names… huh… Guess they aren’t that social. Well, lucky for me. Hopefully I can slip out of here when they aren’t looking.

Right after, the tall, brawny kid stood up.

“I’m Thomas. I think I’ve seen you before.”

I smiled while nodding my head. However, I don’t recall seeing him, and me nodding was just my introverted instincts. 

The last kid didn’t stand up, and had his arms crossed.

“Dreu Moses.” He sounded just as bossy as Alard, but Dreu looked pissed.

Must be an introvert too.

Dreu had short brown hair, was my height, and was pretty thin. 

“I know what we can do. Wanna race?” Alard proposes 

“Yeah, right. Thomas is gonna win like he always does.” Zane interjected

Thomas punched Zane on his arm.

“Relax. I’ll give you a handicap like I always do.” Thomas had a husky voice like Otis, but it sounded lighter. A voice of genuine comfort. A voice to get jealous of.

“No one wants your cheap handicaps. And even then, you still win!” Alard argues

I didn’t know what to do so I stood still like a rock.

Should I say something? What should I say?

I was mentally 20, but I felt so introverted to even feel remotely comfortable talking to kids, and something in me didn’t want to leave a bad impression of me on them even though I knew I’d probably never see them again.

“How about a sword duel?” I proposed

The kids turn their attention to me, gawking at me.

“Yeah! Let’s do that!” Alard chuckled. 

Zane and Dreu hesitated before giving in and nodding.

It took a few minutes of preparation.

We found an area with shorter grass so we could see each other better.

Dreu and I searched for sticks nearby isolated trees in the prairie while Thomas and Alard were fooling around in the short grass.

Dreu hadn't said a word to me since he introduced himself to me, and I felt like he kept ignoring me. He didn’t even look at me once.

I thought maybe I was just thinking too much about it.

A lot of kids are introverted, anyway. 

Once Dreu and I found long sticks with blunt edges and big enough to grasp comfortably, we went back to Alard and Thomas to discuss the rules.

We decided that whoever gets hit first by the stick on the waist and up first dies (loses).

There was no stabbing in the face, and no hitting in the balls.

Pff, as if they have even grown a pair of balls yet.

Whoever wasn’t dueling would be the refs.

And so, the matchups began. First up was Thomas and Alard.

They insisted after all.

“I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Thomas just laughed as he grasped onto their sticks.

I knew to expect nothing if not anything from their ability in dueling, but their form was awful.

Guess I won’t be getting my ass handed today.

At that moment, I thought how Otis was just one-of-a-kind reckless father because not even their fathers taught them to even wield a sword.

Thomas and Alard both wielded their sticks with one hand like they were wands.

I looked at Dreu, but he didn’t look back.

“Call it, Alaric.” Thomas demands.

“Go!” I shout, weakly. 

Alard sprints towards Thomas and attempts to slash Thomas.

The two sticks collide.

Alard was stumbling, and his back was turned to Thomas.

Thomas didn’t pursue Alard though, and he just stood his ground.

Thomas had a perfect opportunity to strike.

Alard found his footing and faced Thomas.

“Lucky.” 

“Sure.” Thomas disregards Alard’s insults.

Alard seemed more wary about attacking Thomas, because he started taking small steps towards Thomas.

“Hurry up already” Thomas teased

Alard gripped his stick harder than he did before, and recklessly went in for another slash.

Thomas countered by hitting the side of his stick against Alard’s stick, and Alard was wide open. Thomas quickly stabbed Alard’s chest with the edge of his blunt stick.

Alard stumbled backwards, and fell very hard on his bum, gasping for air.

Alard said nothing, and just scurried towards us. It looked as if he was going to shed a tear.

He probably did though, because he didn’t face us at all.

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll get you next time! Lucky bastard!” Alard’s trembling voice cracks, sounding weaker the more he speaks.

Thomas cleared the field, and tapped my shoulder. 

“Good luck.”

I kneeled down to pick up my stick, and walked towards where Alard was on the field before the duel started.

I looked ahead of me only to see Dreu smirking.

It looked as if he was waiting for this duel his entire life.

Even though I knew he was only an experienced child, the thought that this would be the first duel of my new life gave me chills. 

I’m really twisted, huh?

"Fight!" Thomas shouted