The Beginning of Knife King's

A Bright Morning After Alice's Departure to the Capital

"98... 99... 100... Huff... Huff..." I muttered, utterly exhausted.

"You still have 10 more laps to run! Get going! Don't just sit around resting!!!"

After agreeing to this yesterday, Uncle Gonzo woke me up early this morning and had me start by doing 100 push-ups before running 10 laps around the village. For an 8-year-old, it felt like absolute torture—a hellish nightmare.

Once I finished the 10 laps around the village, I quickly ran to Uncle Gonzo, who was waiting under the big tree where I often trained in swordsmanship. When I arrived, he immediately spoke to me.

"Alright, kid. I'll have you register as an adventurer. After that, we'll head to the forest south of the village."

Becoming an adventurer is a dangerous yet lucrative career. Adventurers are ranked as follows:

Rank E: The lowest and safest, mostly involving herb gathering or hunting slimes.

Rank D: Slightly tougher, dealing with monsters like orcs and goblins.

Rank C: Requires handling more aggressive and fast creatures like Silver Wolves, or alternatively, taking on merchant escort missions.

Rank B and above: Open to all types of quests, including hunting evolved monsters.

"Master, can I rest for a bit?" I asked weakly, worn out from the morning's training.

"No! Get your gear ready now, or we'll return late!"

Unable to refuse, I quickly prepared my gear and headed south to the forest with Uncle Gonzo. On the way, he brought me to the Adventurers' Guild to register. Upon arriving at the counter, the receptionist handed me a registration form, which I filled out and returned.

"Are you sure about this, young one? Being an adventurer is very dangerous," she asked with a concerned look.

"I'm sure," I replied confidently.

The receptionist said nothing more, handing me my adventurer's card and explaining the guild's rules while introducing the quests available for each rank. My first quest was to gather five slime magic cores.

"Are you done, Ren?"

"Yes, Master. I'm ready to head to the southern forest and hunt slimes."

We began our journey to the forest smoothly. However, halfway there, we stumbled upon a group of 10 bandits battling five knights. Uncle Gonzo and I immediately jumped in to help.

"Ha! Only five of you, and you still dare to fight us?" the bandit leader mocked confidently.

"Boss! Reinforcements are here! Arghhh!"

While Uncle Gonzo engaged the bandits, I rushed to aid a severely wounded knight who was about to be killed by the bandit leader.

Ding!

I unsheathed my sword, deflecting the bandit leader's blow, but the sheer weight behind his strike forced me to use all my strength to parry it.

"Not bad for a little kid," the leader sneered, his grin unsettling.

I focused intently, trying to counter, but before I realized it, the bandit leader closed the gap, his sword thrusting straight for my heart.

Ding... Crack!

By instinct, I managed to block the attack, but something told me the bandit leader had more tricks up his sleeve.

He stepped back, and the atmosphere shifted drastically. Suddenly, an aura of blue lightning enveloped his sword, crackling with energy. His stance changed, his right hand aiming the sword tip at me while his left hand steadied the blade. His legs tensed, ready to launch at his maximum speed. I braced myself for the incoming attack.

"This time, it's for real. Watch yourself, kid," he warned.

In a flash, he lunged at me with lightning-fast speed. It was as if a streak of light passed through me, but luckily, I could still faintly follow his movements. Even so, his blade grazed me multiple times.

Ding-ding!... Crash!

My sword shattered under the pressure of his relentless attacks. I could feel the immense weight and sharpness his lightning aura added to his blade. Frantically scanning my surroundings, I spotted a knight's sword embedded in the ground. I quickly grabbed it and resumed the fight, opting to dodge rather than block his strikes.

Whoosh... Slash!

I dodged his swing and counterattacked, but my strike barely cut deep enough.

"Let's end this," he declared.

At his words, his speed increased dramatically, leaving me struggling to keep up. He leapt into the air, bringing his blade down with incredible force.

Crack! Crack!

As I blocked, my right knee gave out under the weight, and my sword began to crack. Preparing to evade, I leapt away just as my weapon shattered.

Crash! Thud! Boom!

I dodged his attack, but the sheer force of his strike left the ground beneath us caved in as if a bomb had gone off. Now weaponless, I knew my chances of winning were slim. My best option was to stall for time until Uncle Gonzo could assist.

Thud, thud… Clink!

My foot hit something—a dagger dropped by one of the fallen bandits. I picked it up immediately, its light weight and balance giving me newfound confidence.

"A useless little blade? You think that'll help you? Hahaha!" the bandit leader jeered.

Whoosh! Slash! Slash!

Dodging his horizontal swing, I retaliated mid-air with two quick slashes before landing. Though the cuts were shallow, I could see they were starting to wear him down.

"Just from changing weapons, you're this much stronger?" he growled, surprised.

The fight continued, and I began to anticipate his sword swings. Step by step, I dodged and countered with precision, slicing across his chest repeatedly.

But just as I thought I had the upper hand, he suddenly bolted toward the wagon carrying the injured knight.

Whoosh... Stab!

I threw the dagger, piercing his heart before he could reach the wagon.

"Impossible..." he muttered in disbelief before collapsing.

I rushed to the wagon, finding a young girl with blue hair crying next to an unconscious maid, gravely injured.

"How are the people in the wagon, Ren?" Uncle Gonzo called out, his body bloodied from battling the bandits.

"There's one injured person here, Master," I replied.

Uncle Gonzo hurried over, placing his hand on the wound and chanting something. A green magic circle appeared.

"Heal!"

The bleeding stopped, and the wound vanished, leaving no trace of pain.

"Master, what was that?" I asked, astonished.

"It's healing magic. I have a talent for it. Anyway, did you defeat the bandit leader?"

"Yes, Master. He was tough. I'll explain in detail once we're back in the village."

Afterward, we gathered the bodies of the bandits and fallen knights, cremating them.

From this encounter, only three survived: an injured knight, the maid, and the blue-haired girl.

End of Chapter 2