Even after much protest from Harwin, Graftel ordered for a duel between themselves. They faced each-other with a few yards of distance in-between, neither party moved.

  “We can not stand here forever, and I can assure you, you do not want me to attack first,” Graftel warned.

  Harwin looked towards Landel for guidance but to no avail. Landel wanted his pupil to decide for himself in this battle. He decided to wait, as he was taught to do so. He was still confident in his rigorous hardwork and practice.

  Graf waited for a few moments and then sighed. He had expected his opponent to take the offense, but now—

  He vaulted towards Harwin at a speed so fast that a normal person could have mistaken it for teleportation, but the instincts of his opponent had sharpened after sparring with Landel for so long. Even though, Harwin was no match for either of them, he still barely managed to deflect the strike which shocked Graftel, while Landel wore a faint smile on his face with pride.

  “You really have improved. That brat has taught you well, I will give him that. Now then, what will you if I do this,”

  Graftel proceeded to strike Harwin’s sword from all angles in succession — ultimately breaking it into many pieces. He did not even once target his opponent directly, but only the weapon.

  Harwin could only watch in confusion, as to what had just occurred.

  “Now what will you do?” Graftel mocked a little.

  He then proceeded to lift his sword above his head to deliver the final blow, but just as the strike came down upon his opponent it was stopped narrowly from touching the opposing party’s head. Graf's sword was now between the palms of Harwin.

  The move certainly was a great surprise for even the sword-saint — this human, who had been practicing for only three months or so had managed to block his attack twice. Though, before Harwin could celebrate, Graftel pushed down his sword with immense force, ending the duel instantly.

  Landel was also taken a-back by the way his student had blocked the sword-saint’s attack. It was a move only good enough when fighting with wooden-swords otherwise his head would have been split open, but it was still an impressive feat.

  Harwin laid on the ground, not from the pain, but from exhaustion. It was not a long fight, but the sheer focus and moves he had pulled out were enough to diminish his stamina.

  “Magnificent, I am impressed. You have improved quite a lot,” Graftel complimented

  “Indeed, I am very grateful to Landel. He is very skillful, and not only that, he is brilliant in teaching techniques that would otherwise be very hard to get a grasp on.” Harwin said while getting himself up.

  Landel walked away from there — he was really not good at handling compliments.

  “That boy gets embarrassed quite easily. I always scold him, but he really will surpass me one day. His abilities at his age far exceed mine when I was at the same. I do hope that he can find the motivation to push through his limits once again. He had been avoiding to hone his skills further, which might have been due to not being able to practice against anyone on his level. I am always busy with the village duty otherwise I would have trained him myself. You have, however, rekindled the flame once more in him. The way you never give up? and have made improvements in such a short amount of time must have given him the reslove to reach new heights.”

  “I am not worthy of such compliments, but if it really helps Landel then I will continue to support him.”

  “Now then about your situation, you need to make up your mind to where you will be going to. As far as man-power is concerned, I can provide you with two captains and a few men. You can also take Landel if he would like to go. Anything else you would like my assistance in?” Graftel asked.

  “Yes, actually. I am sorry to rely on you so much when you already have so many responsibilities. I want you to announce to the villagers of our departure so anyone who wishes to join this venture comes forward especially the craftsmen. It will be helpful in boosting the morale of the whole village, and also with the expertise of the craftsman we might be able to get a better deal when selling the goods. I will assist to the best of my abilities, but only artisian can know the best qualities of his craft. I am also planning on taking all or most of the loot we had got from the battle against the bandits. I am sure it will get us a lot of silver or even gold. What do you think of all this master?”

  "I will make an announcement today. You can take the loot with you, but I will suggest discussing it with the chief before taking all of it with you.”

  Harwin nodded. Graftel then left to attend to his duties while the former made his way back home.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Alisa was waiting for him at the doorstep. He felt a bit refreshed upon seeing her.

  Now that Harwin could cast a few basic spells, Alisa helped him learn different ways to utilize his magika in the most efficient way possible.

  They practiced for a while, and then talked about their daily life. During their conversations Harwin told her about how he would be going out to a near-by city with a caravan — hopefully taking Landel with him.

  “I want to go with you as well. It will be the only chance I can get to see the outside world for the first time.” Alisa insisted.

  “I can not take you with me on my own accord. You will need the permission from the chief, if he consents then you can go without any problem.” Harwin argued.

  He also did not want to take such a great responsibility. He had seen enough of the world to know that it was not a safe place for a sheltered lady such as Alisa.

  “That is troublesome. Maybe I can hide in one of your carriages?” she suggested with a sly smile.

  “Then I would have to leave the carriage behind before leaving the village.” Harwin played along.

  “You ought to be a gentleman in such situations. Atleast show some courage, and fulfill the first wish that I have asked of you.” Alisa argued with a serious expression.

  “I am neither a hero, nor a very good warrior. However, I have experience as a merchant and if the risk is great with little to no reward, then I would rather not take it.” Harwin continued to banter.

  “Very well. I will take the permission from grand-father, but be prepared to get ordered around during the whole journey because you did not help me in my time of need.” Alisa pouted.

  Harwin smiled at this remark. They talked for a bit before he again had to leave to check all the preparations. He had alot at stake this time so he wanted to make sure there were no problems what so ever. Most importantly, after a firm warning from the chief, he wanted to be even more careful.

  He checked the conditions of all the wagons and carriages. There were all assembled recently so there were hardly any problems. He also listened to the announcement of Graftel — the sword-saint surely knew the way around words. He could guide unarmed men to fight in a battle where the odds favored the enemy, and still win. It was quality not many possessed.

  Ever since arriving in the settlement, Harwin had always thought of why Landel was the one referred to as the prodigy. It was no doubt that he was brilliant and a skilled warrior — one of the best he had seen yet, but Graftel on the other hand was in a league of his own. The man's mastery over the blade, and battle prowess were truly something out of the world.

  Setting aside his way with the sword, he was a natural born leader, commander and a strategist. One with so many great qualities should deserve the title of ‘Genius’ or ‘prodigy’, or atleast that is what Harwin thought.

  After the announcement had taken place, he observed several people gathering around Graf. Harwin, at that moment, knew that his plan had worked, and these people might be his future caravan members. He, however, did not waste much time there, as Graftel could handle the crowd himself.

  After making sure that all the things were in order, Harwin made his way back to his residence. It was already dusk, the night was still young, but there were rarely any people outside.

  Outside his house, four men were awaiting his return. On closer observation, he noticed that they were Graftel, Farelen, Landel and one other he did not know of.

  “Gor, we have been waiting for your return. I want you to meet the captains who will accompany you. Of-course, you have already met Farelen, I am sure you remember him. I have decided that he will be the battle-commander of your caravan, you will be the caravan-master; in-charge of matter related to trades, route selection and in all other sorts of dealings, but you will have to obey Farelen in case of an ambush, battle or anything related to combat. This man over here is Efrion, he will be your party’s advisor. The man is quite skilled in all kinds of things, so I am sure you will find his abilities quite useful in any kind of situation. He is also a captain so you can count him in his ability to fight as well. So do any of you have any objections?”

  None objected except for Landel, it was rare for him to openly speak out to any of the propositions of Graftel:

  “You have not stated my role.” Landel asked with a frown.

  “Oh I nearly forgot, lets see you can be....” Graf pondered for a while and then declared

  “You will be the personal bodyguard of Gor. Bring him back in one piece, as he is quite important for the future of the village.”

  “What? Give me some imp—” Landel’s protest was interrupted.

  “And now, let us question what our caravan-master have decided regarding the destination of the caravan?" Graftel asked without paying any heed to Landel’s objections what-so-ever.

  "The city of Neilwisk. It is to the east of the great-forest, the one and only city of the country of 'Evelwisk'. I had wanted to go to Thirysl, but it's terrain is far too difficult to traverse while returning in time. Also,it is a town known for supplying weapons all across the continent, so considering our goods, it will not be an ideal place to sell them there. Neilwisk has an abundant amount of wheat, cotton and other related commodities, so we will certainly be able to prepare for the winters better if we go there."

  "I suppose that can work, but discuss it with the chief. Be prepared to leave as soon as possible if he assents to the plan. By the way, we have a surprise for you as well."

  Farelen picked up a barrel from behind him. It appeared to be some kind of alcohol. They had also prepared some food inside the house for a celebration of sort. All of them made their way without asking for Harwin’s permission who was the last to enter in his own domicile, but how could he protest, it was literally given to him by the village. He did not really have any possessions of his own, so he just followed along what ever Graftel did.

  “This is the elfian rum, it quite the rare treat. I had been saving it for sometime now.” Graftel said while handing Harwin a drink.

  Everyone else followed his example, and without any hesitation began to drink.

  “It is quite strong. Actually, it might even be too strong for a human, but there is no damage in trying something new, as you may never get your hands on it again, ”Graftel warned.

  Harwin chugged the whole mug without any problem which shocked everyone at his high tolerance. Everyone else were already getting abit dizzy — their cheeks flushing from taking a few sips, but Harwin had finished the entire mug without any problem without being intoxicated as well.

  “Now that is something. How did you do it little human? What's the trick behind it?” Farelen asked with great interest.

  “Nothing like that. I have always had a strong tolerance to all kinds of alcohol. I even had no problem withstanding the beast-men’s and dwarven rum.” Harwin tried to stay humble, but it was still quite impressive.

  “That is very impressive indeed. Perhaps I should bestow upon you a title, lets see....” Graftel thought for a while and then proclaimed:

  “From this day forward, you will be known as Gor 'the iron-belly' — a title worthy of your ability."

  Graftel half-joked, but Harwin knew that this name was going to be stuck with him for a while. Everyone else in the room found it quite amusing, even Landel could not help but smile.

  This continued throughout the night, they drank the whole barrel down to to the last drop. Harwin had only chugged down two mugs as he did not really get effected so he felt that it was a waste on him. The other four, however, were completely drunk and after the finishing the barrel, slept in the same places they were drinking.

  This moment really over-joyed Harwin who had missed such gatherings from his old world, but such memories will only test his resolve in the future more than he can imagine.