The mana the boy expelled was incredible, quickly the boy grabbed his spear and prepared to fight the onslaught of goblins. He held the spear tightly with his right hand while his left arm was glowing a similar green to whatever the hell was protecting me from the outside world.

Did he make this, I thought as I carefully watched his every move.

Did he make this orb, did he yell shield a couple of seconds ago? My thoughts were drowned out by the boy’s spear clashing with the goblins.

The way the boy moved with his spear was far more controlled and smoother than my sword fighting. The boy had a focused but relax look on his face moving the weapon with ease.

One of the goblins lunged at the boy; just as it jumped out for his arm, the boy punched it, sending it flying to a tree, killing it on impact.

How strong is this kid?

As the boy continued to fight the more, I noticed how far ahead he was compared to me in skill and sheer power. When I faced the goblins, I was barely surviving to the point where I almost died while the boy was killing the goblins.

I’m not that weak; I tried to stand up by winced in pain. The injures on my leg and back made me nearly immobile. I let out a sigh as I sat on the ground, defenseless.

I can’t let this guy do all the work.

The boy looked back at me and let out a smirk as he continued to fight back the goblins. The lone survivor of the goblins ran towards him, which he quickly killed with a swift stab with his spear.

The boy fixed some of the hair covering his eyes before walking over to where I was sitting. With a small gesture from his left hand, the glow disappeared, and the orb slowly vanished.

“I probably went a bit too far,” The boy remarked while placing the spear in the hilt on his back, “I didn’t mean to hog up all the fight.”

Looking behind the boy, the goblins were all dead. Some were in one piece while others were cut in half, or bones were clearly deformed after the boy’s swift attacks.

“I was in no condition to fight. I almost died,” I let out  a sigh of relief, “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” The boy let out a chuckle, “Didn’t want anyone dying while I’m around.”

“My name’s Acemore Lance,” I rubbed the back of my neck while I looked up to the boy, “Just call me Ace.”

The boy leaned over and reached out his hand, “Ehno Ira.”

I grabbed his hand as he pulled me up to my feet, “Nice to meet you, Ehno.”

“Same here,” Ehno looked out in the distance, “What were you doing out here in the first place. It’s like hell out here with this rain.”

“I uh,” I let out a chuckle. Maybe Phillip had a point to tell me to wait a day. “I was traveling to Imperia.”

“Didn’t someone warn you of these conditions?” Ehno asked.

“Yeah,” I looked down, “I didn’t listen.”

“Of course, you didn’t listen,” Ehno groaned before slapping his forehead, “You might as well rest for now at least. You’re in no condition to keep traveling.”

I let out a nervous chuckle, “Just take me up to that cave. I should have some bandages for the wounds.”

“You definitely need more than just bandages,” Ehno stated.

“If I had a healing potion, I would use it, but I don’t,” I groaned in pain, “One would be really useful right now.”

Ehno reached into his pocket and pulled out a small container with a reddish liquid inside the capsule.

“Take it,” Ehno gestured as I quickly grabbed the bottle, “It’s a healing potion.”

I took it from his hand and popped off the glass cap, and placed it in my pocket, “Thanks so much.”

“No worries,” Ehno smirked, “I should give it to the person who looks like shit.”

I glared at Ehno before drinking down the liquid; as the drink burned down my throat, I felt a cool sensation surrounding my body as I felt lighter on my feet.

“That’s some potion,” I coughed, “It burned my throat.”

“Yeah,” Ehno pointed to my chest, “It also completely replenished your mana from the fight.”

“You saved me, killed the monsters, and gave me a potion,” I chuckled at my own words, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Honestly, it’s fine. Just think of it as a champion-to-champion deal,” Ehno gave me a thumbs-up as he helped me walk up the hill.

“You’re a champion,” I was stunned, “That’s incredible.”

“I wish I was a champion, My authorities and stats were just awoken, so I’m not even registered yet.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” I chuckled, “You’re clearly strong, and that authority you have is insane.”

“Thanks, I’m my stats are all A-rank, and my authority is highly defensive, allowing me to create barriers of any shape around certain locations, though I’m pretty restricted,” As we reached the cave Ehno helped place me down on the ground while I remained in awe after learning his status and authority.

An A-rank champion?! In the flesh!

“You’re definitely going to be recruited by one of the ten guilds,” I remarked.

“I hope so,” Ehno placed his spear down and walked towards Onyx, “I’m guessing this boy is your horse?”

“Yep,” I pointed to Onyx’s right side of his saddle, “There should be some bandages right there for my wounds.”

“Got it,” Ehno walked over, but Onyx’s let out a neigh, “Whoa boy, I’m just here to help your owner, don’t worry.” Ehno raised his arms to prove his innocence.

“He’s probably shaken up from the goblins still,” I tried to rotate my shoulder but winced in pain, “Shit it still hurts.”

“Just relax,” Ehno slowly made his way to Onyx, “The potion heals the wound by closing the wounds, but it still takes time for the body to get used to it. Especially if it’s a potion and not an authority-based healing spell.”

“Right,” I groaned as I rested my head on the wall of the cave.

Ehno fished into the saddle pocket before quickly throwing a roll of bandages to me, “Catch!” 

I grabbed the roll and started wrapping it around my thigh, the wound itself looked completely healed without any scars or even a small mark.

“I think you left your sword out there,” Ehno pointed to the outside of the cave, “I’ll be right back.”

I gave him a thumbs up while I continued to cover the wound, “Don’t want it to open back up. I remember gramps telling me about how it's weaker than regular skin.”

I took the cover of the blade off my back and onto the ground, “Ehno will probably want that once he finds my sword.”

I took off my jacket and placed it too the side was still wet from the rain and had a huge mark from where the goblin clawed into my shoulder.

Stupid monster, I thought I was going to die.

I grabbed the bandage and ripped off the remainder roll, and tied a knot to the wrap on my leg to secure it in place.

If only it were enchanted, how useful would that be, I chuckled at my thoughts.

I finished wrapping up the white cloth around my shoulder and rotated my arm a little to see if it felt any different.

“A little bit tighter, but hey, the pain is gone,” I muttered.

“Sorry I took a while,” I jerked my head to see Ehno at the front of the cave with my bloodied sword, “I’ll just put it in the sheathe.”

I gestured to the cover next to me and Ehno quickly placed it inside.

After he placed the sword back on the ground he walked over to the other side of the cave where he sat directly across from me.

“So,” Ehno awkwardly shouted, “I guess we should get to know each other.”

 “I guess we should,” I repositioned myself so I could see Ehno’s face, “So why’d you leave your hometown? Plus, where are you even from?”

“Well,” Ehno slowly talked, “It’s only an hour from here, the village is called Kalet, but I was ready to leave to Imperia on foot compared to you with your horse.” Ehno laughed, “You?”

“Well, I lived in Urna, so it’s a couple hours away, but I left since there was nothing for me to do in the town.” I looked to the distance, “So I packed up my things and left. After my grandfather died a couple of months ago. I felt like it was for the better.”

“I’m,” I looked up to see Ehno with a small frown on his face, “That must be hard.”

“It’s been a couple of months,” I let out a sigh, “It took me time, but I’ve come to terms with what happened.”

“Regardless,” Ehno interjected, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks,” I leaned back, “So why do you wanna become a champion?”

I could hear Ehno take in a deep breath.

Did I ask something too personal?

“Well,” Ehno let out a chuckle, “I grew up on a farm, hot days, constantly harvesting, and little time to experience growing up. I never felt like it was the kind of setting I belonged to, so I thought that maybe my true purpose was still out there to be found.”

Ehno’s eyes burned with passion; it was clear the question he had been asking himself was something he’d been asking for a long time.

“What about you, Ace?” Ehno pondered, “What’s your reason.”

I felt my thoughts stop in their tracks; I had never actually asked myself why I was becoming a champion.

For my grandfather? For me? For something greater?

I looked at Ehno and slowly spoke, “I honestly don’t have a true reason myself. My grandfather wanted me to become a champion. I felt like I should follow his wishes. But as for myself, his stories of the Greatest Champion inspired me to be to go down the same path.”

“Still a better answer than none,” Ehno pointed out, “What about your stats and authority? You think they’ll get you far?”

Another question I had yet to ask myself.

How far was I truly going to go? Were my stats really going to hold me back?

“Don’t beat yourself up before you get into a fight,” My grandfather’s words flooded back into my head, and I felt my mind calm down.

“I’ve got a couple E-rank stats but I’m mainly an F-rank champion. As for my authority, they couldn’t find out what it was during the examination, so I’m technically an anomaly,” I felt a smirk rise across my face, “If it holds me back, I’ll come to terms with it. Still, I don’t want it to stop me from becoming a champion. I’m not that kind of person.”

“You seemed to have taken it well,” Ehno remarked.

“Once you experience a near-death moment by goblins, things start to become easier,” I joked around.

“Especially when you get saved by the coolest person around,” Ehno boasted.

“Yeah, right,” I rolled my eyes. I let out a smile as Ehno chuckled at his remark.

“You asked why I wanted to become a champion,” I tightened my hand into a fist, “I’m inspired by the Greatest Champion, but that’s not just it. I want to become the greatest. Even better than the Greatest Champion in his time.”

Ehno let out a laugh, “I would have never expected a person who almost died from some goblins to announce suddenly that they won’t just become the best, but they’ll become more powerful than the Greatest Champion,” Ehno stood up and stretched, “Even if you think your stats aren’t the best that cocky attitude of yours will get you someplace.”

I stood up and laughed, “I’ve yet to die, so I guess it’s gotten me pretty far.”

Ehno walked over to me and ruffled his hair, “If you still plan on leaving to Imperia and beyond, I’d be happy to create a party with you,” Ehno reached out his hand, “You may have the cocky attitude to get your far, but if you have someone like me, I’m sure you’ll get further. Plus! All the girls will come running to us. I mean, sure it’s for me but hey, you’ll be there too!”

I rolled my eyes and chuckled before shaking Ehno’s hand, “You sure about this? I’ll be heading out to the other continents after Imperia.”

I was amazed, Ehno seemed really keen on joining me on my journey even if we had only met a couple of moments ago.

“I get to party up with the person who has announced they’ll be better than the Greatest Champion?” Ehno started to laugh, “You must take me as some kind of idiot to decline front row seats to something like that.”

I walked to the entrance of the cave and looked outside, the rain was finally slowing down, but it was clearly too dark to keep traveling for the day, “We leave at sunrise tomorrow,” I looked back to face Ehno, who was attentively listening to every word I spoke, “We should aim to reach Imperia by the end of the month, then we will take a boat to,”

“The continent Valhos, to the Contest of Champions,” Ehno walked over and stood to my right.

“Seems like you already know the plan,” I laughed.

“I’d be honestly surprised if you said anywhere else,” Ehno remarked.

“So this is where it begins?” I asked Ehno, “Two idiotic fifteen-year-olds who have just met are supposedly going to rise through the ranks of the champions and become the greatest?”

“Sounds about right,” Ehno chuckled.

I took one more glance at the view before heading back into the cave, “I can’t wait to kick some ass.”

“You mean to get your ass kicked?” Ehno retorted, “Like today!”

I turned my head around and rolled my eyes, “One day, I’ll save you, and you’ll never hear the end of it. You should be flattered the future greatest made a promise to save you,” I smirked.

Ehno let out a small chuckle as I walked over to Onyx’s saddle and pulled out two blankets tossing one to Ehno.

“We leave early, so we should try to get some sleep,” I walked back over to the wall and stretched out before pulling the blanket over my body.

“Hey,” Ehno called out.

“What’s up?” I looked over to see Ehno still wide awake.

“I know I told you how girls would run up to us when we arrive but do you think if I actually become the greatest, will every girl on the three continents want to date me?” Ehno pondered.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his question, “Ehno. Shut up.”

“Don’t worry, Ace. I’ll be sure to find at least one girl for you,” Ehno sarcastically boasted, “Maybe she can save you constantly instead of me.”

I rolled my eyes before bursting in laughter.

That night we both barely slept instead we stayed up talking for hours until we drifted out into a slumber.