The 10th King

Chapter 4: The 1st Knight

We were under a tree in the forest sitting on a boulder.

"Okay, so first of all, you should check you're blade if it's sharp, show me your weapon " said Hwanton to Paul as he took out his blade.

"Sure!" Says Paul as he gave his sword to Hwanton.

"Oh, I see, interesting... are you sure about this? Do you really fight your enemy with an inverted sword?" Hwanton asked with curiosity.

"You know you can't kill an enemy if you--" Hwanton was interrupted.

"Well, I don't believe killing can be the right solution in fighting, Like we can go to the conversation route I guess. But it never works." says Paul.

The king showed interest and saw promise, he said, "I see! You're very naive! Stand up and raise your sword." the King said.

"Raise your sword! And try slicing off that tree with one slash" the King continued.

"One slash with my sword!? But my sword isn't even that sharp." said Paul with hesitation as he looked at his sword.

"Well, let's see about that" said Hwanton.

"I'll try" said Paul as he grasped his sword firmly.

He closed his eyes and attacked the tree with all his strength.

As he opened his eyes, he saw the tree he attacked. But eventually the tree only took a large dent.

"It's seems, I failed your task huh?" He said with a dissapointed face.

Then out of nowhere the King laughed

"Hey! Why are you laughing!?" He said

"Paul, you have potential! Would you like to join me, as my aquaintance? Don't worry I'll make your beliefs true. With your strength, we could have the ability to attain the superior spot and show them the strength of Seva Eliva." said Hwanton as he raised his fist.

"What? After that miserable failure, you still believe in me?" Paul asked.

"Paul, from all the adventurers I've seen, you're the only one who made a dent on that tree." Said the king as he pointed at it.

"Woah! Is that so! I'll gladly join!" Said Paul.

"Save your enthusiasm for your training. This is going to be one hell of a hard ride. You sure.you want to do this?"

"Of course! I'm up to any challenge!" Says Paul

He was the King's First Knight. And he was the first interesting person that the king befriended. Even being the youngest knight, the king gladly taught Paul, the techniques and the tricks to sword fighting. The King eventually educated Paul everything he should know. Everyday was hard, as he worked and trained for his skills to increase.

Sword swinging, breathing exercises, intense training. He did all that until the day of his final task

For six long months, he mastered the arts of swinging a sword... like the blow of the wind. With his white hair blown by the wind while wearing light armor, he was prepared to face anything.

As Paul's training ended, he was given a task to break a tree which was the toughest tree in their land, "The Tree of Perseverance".

"You know Paul? When I was a young lad like you, I went to this tree everyday trying to hit this with my sword if it can ever break. But eventually I never had the strength to do it" The king said as he look at the tree with a smile.

"This tree?" Asked Paul as he wielded his sword facing it at the tree.

With his position like in his training he attacked it as he clossd his eyes. And exactly at that moment, the king looked with joy and satisfaction.

As Paul opened his eyes, he saw...

The tree was totally destroyed by his attack.

That was the first time Hwanton was really impressed. Who wouldn't though?

"Amazing, You really are something! I didn't expect you to break the tree that easilly." the king said.

"W-WOAH! DID I DO THAT!?" Asked Paul with a shocked face.

He didn't believe he did that. The king then approached Paul and scruffled his hair.

"That's why I chose you, Paul! Keep up the good work!" he said with satisfaction.

With the long training he had, he achieved a skill called the Leaf Style Sword Technique. For short, Leafy Slash.

"With that technique, you can easilly make an enemy unconscious, without needing to rely on killing!" said the king as he sat at the stump of the tree.

"Woah!" Paul shouted.

"This still isn't your goal right, Paul? The fight will only get tougher, with enemies you can't believe exist. I'm going to be needing you through those tough days". Says the King

"I'll give all loyalty to you, King Hwanton" said Paul as he bowed down to his superiority.

To be continued...