CHAPTER TWELVE

  Alexandri floated in the serene pond, his body suspended in the cool water as his mind drifted in deep meditation. His breath was slow, the gentle ripples of the water around him mimicking the flow of his thoughts. The stillness of the marsh was a stark contrast to the chaos that had once consumed his life. But here, among the murky waters and tangled reeds, he found a strange sort of peace.

  His purpose for being here wasn’t merely to guide the boys in their aura training. It was something more personal—something that was becoming a necessity in his pursuit of growth. He needed to make the technique he’d come to call the “Impenetrable Tower Defense” better than it currently was. A shield to protect him from the world’s harshest dangers. After all, his confidence had been shattered once before. He’d been foolish—arrogant even—believing that nothing could touch him.

  The claw scar on his neck—a permanent reminder—still throbbed occasionally. It was a mark left by the beastkin ranger leader. That fight had shown him the cost of arrogance. That fight had made him feel something he thought he had long since abandoned: fear.

  Alexandri’s gaze turned to the sky, his thoughts wandering to the past, back to the time when the weight of fear first found him.

  He was born to Thawmus Pilter, Count of Gryounrd, a region nestled just a little further on the outskirts of Omazu, a place most people would hardly notice. He had been a frail, fragile child—his father’s greatest disappointment. Thawmus was a swordsman of great renown, a man who had always dreamed of passing down his legacy to his son. He imagined Alexandri would one day wield a blade with the same strength and resolve as he had. But when Alexandri was born, weak and sickly, his father saw him as a curse, a failure.

  Alexandri tried to please his father in every way he could. He trained tirelessly, day in and day out. He couldn’t hold a sword properly, but he struggled on, pushing his fragile body to its limits. The only time he had felt any joy was when he managed to win a match against a class-five trainee. But that joy was quickly crushed when his father dismissed him, calling him weak and pathetic, stating that any son of his should have wiped the floor with such an opponent.

  "You are no son of mine, you don't deserve the name you bear!"

  His mother, the one constant in his life, would comfort him. She spoke of beauty in other forms, of strength that didn’t come from swordplay or brute force. She taught him that the people of Gryounrd were like flowers and that the leaders were gardeners, nurturing their people until they blossomed which in return would lead to them contributing to the county and making it prosperous. She made him appreciate the gentleness of flowers and the way they swayed in the breeze. She taught him to see strength in vulnerability, to see beauty in all things, and to find peace in his heart. He always smelled of flowers, even as a child—an aroma that lingered long after his mother had gone.

  But his father was resolute in his disdain. “I don’t need a son like you,” he’d said, dismissing Alexandri from his presence. “Go to the academy. Perhaps they can make something out of you.” He made it known that he would set his focus on his daughters nurturing them into beautiful women. Women who would bring suitable suitors worthy enough to rule over his land.

  ..

  It was there, at the Gryandstine Academy, that the real torment began.

  The academy was a place where only the strongest survived. There, Alexandri was the joke of the school. Ridiculed and mocked by everyone, from the nobility to the commoners, he found himself isolated, and alone. His peers had blessings from the gods—gifts of power that made them formidable—but Alexandri had nothing. Nothing except the burning desire to prove himself.

  He worked relentlessly. Mornings before classes were spent running through the academy and working on his physical exercises, pushing his body beyond its limits. Nights after classes were spent training with a sword that never felt like an extension of himself. But still, he was weak. The gods had not blessed him as they had his peers, he watched as they showed off blessings given to them by the various gods among the seven deities they served. He had grown to resent the gods ever since he was younger.

  ..

  Then came the survival test.

  The students were thrust into the wilderness, tasked with hunting Cyupos—creatures that resembled foxes but with three eyes that could help them sense danger when a powerful foe was around or approaching sharp claws and speed that made them difficult prey, the eyes also granted them intelligence it made them very sly and cunning, which helped them survive even with their small build. Alexandri was paired with Ameria d’Contilgo and Chadeus Flem. Amelia was ranked third in their class, a gifted fighter, while Chadeus was an arrogant top-tier student ranked fifth.

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  The test should have been simple. Alexandri killed two Cyupos on his own, but when he turned to check the progress of his companions, he found that both Ameria and Chadeus had slaughtered far more. Chadeus, unwilling to accept defeat, suggested they venture deeper into the woods. he had said, “It’s not about the difficulty of the hunt.” “The score is about quantity.” The scores were determined by the number of cyupos third eyes you brought back, meaning there was also room to steal opponents' or teammates' scores.

  They went deeper into the forest killing and hunting the creatures with Chad insisting they go even deeper so he could fill his pouch. What followed was a reckless pursuit. The Cyupos led them deeper into the forest, where they found themselves walking straight into a trap.

  A loud, guttural roar shook the air.

  And then they saw it—a Tarian Troll, mortally injured a whole on its chest, bloodied and angry, standing in front of them like a beast from the deepest parts of nightmares, they were known for their light blueish-green skin, slender muscular build, intelligence, ruthlessness in battle and they stood six feet tall. It spoke "Human offsprings have you come to finish off Ka'al?" it had been part of a group of trolls that was hunted by a human party but it escaped not before it was injured tha]is happened a few days ago. None of them understood its language because it spoke in troll tongue, its voice dripping with rage and with a killing intent so thick that it froze them in place.

  Chadeus ran first, panicking. But his desperate flight was cut short by a small, sharp throwing knife that sank into his skull. This sight was something new to them something they had never seen this wasn't the little cyupos they hunted or the tamed monsters from the academy they fought with under the watchful eyes of their professors, no this was something more feral, injured, and cornered. Ameria tried to fight back, but her attacks were thwarted. Alexandri could see the fear in her eyes—as it also permeated through his own skin. This was a battle for survival. There would be no glory in this fight, no practice in swordplay. This was brutal. She activated the blessings in her eyes and saw that there was no way for either her or alexandri to get out of the situation without them sacrificing themselves.

  And yet, Alexandri jumped in front of Ameria when the troll lunged toward her, pushing both him and the troll downhill. As they tumbled down until they got to a clearing filled with greenery but neither of them paid attention to it as they both had their eyes locked on each other. His actions felt instinctual. Why did he risk his life for her? Was it because of his mother’s teachings about strength through selflessness?

  The troll was fast, its daggers flashing in the air, and Alexandri was left dodging blows as he fought back, his sword no longer feeling heavier and heavier from each strike and clashing with troll daggers. At that moment, his body felt clogged. Every strike, every movement was a struggle, and yet he was alive. He was surviving.

  The troll’s taunts echoed in his mind as they exchanged blows. “Foolish human offspring... you should have run.”

  Alexandri didn't heed its words. He wouldn't run. Not this time.

  The final clash came in the form of a mutual charge. The daggers of the troll aimed to take his head off but it stumbled from the pain of its injuries and Alexandri dodged digging his sword directly into the wound of the chest of the troll and slashing across it diagonally. But just as Alexandri thought he had triumphed, the troll's last desperate act sent its daggers flying into his body, piercing his gut and back with the troll saying "I will be taking you with me human" as it smiled and died before hitting the ground. His vision blurred as he tumbled into the pond nearby, drowning beneath the surface as his life flashed before his eyes the last memory he had was of his mother then he lost consciousness.

  And yet, in the cold depths of the water, something miraculous occurred. Humans had never found out about this fact, the trolls could use mana and because they were one with nature they were blessed by mana. The troll's blood flowed into the pond mixing with the healing properties of the water they flowed into alexandri's body healing him and enhancing his physique, this pushed him to the surface where he floated and soaked in the water for five days only to gain consciousness when a bunny licked on his face trying to get a drink from the pond, he woke up in shock looking at what had happened to his body and that was how he found the marsh.

  He spent two weeks in the woods trying to get back to the academy fighting monsters as he went by with his bare hands because his sword felt wrong to him, his fist felt more natural and better to him.

  He was barely recognisable when he got to the academy the professors and students were shocked they had thought he died. They didn't bother sending out a search party even when Ameria begged they said why would they risk the lives of professors going into an unknown to save one worthless student even tho they went back for Chad's body.

  He had survived an impossible situation a few days more and word would have been sent to his parents about his death which would have broken his mother's heart. It wasn't until later he realized he had also been blessed with mana from the incident and learned how to use aura his aura was very different from others he had more control over it in time when he practiced and he could form layers with it.

  His mind snapped back to the present. The familiar sounds of the marsh pulled him from his reverie. His body felt lighter, the memory of the orc’s blades fading as the water lapped gently around him.

  He had survived.

  Not just that battle, but the relentless torment of his past. He had come here to find strength in his training, but what he found instead was a deeper understanding of his own limitations. And maybe, just maybe, that was the key to his defense.

  The Impenetrable Tower Defense would not be strengthened by arrogance, nor by fear, but by understanding—himself and the world around him.

  Alexandri opened his eyes, staring at the reflection of the trees above him.

  His journey was far from over.