Large, trembling, and fragmented white marble rocks had water seeping from two points, flowing down through the moss. A long, shiny black sword was embedded deep into the crack between the two streams, extending outward. The sword had ancient inscriptions on it and ethnic patterns woven with red leather on the hilt. Holding this sword was a young man.
"HHHHHHHHIII" a cry coming from the depths echoed.
While the young man was comfortably seated, he was gripping the hilt tightly with one hand to keep the sword in place. His long hair, hanging down from his tilted head, covered his cheeks. A small sadness arose within him as he watched the water splashing on his swinging foot, but of course, he immediately shook his head to prevent it from continuing. After all, this crying sound was just a final lie. The creature's eyes, which had been filled with hatred and bloodlust just a few minutes ago, shedding tears as the moment of death approached, was a characteristic of this species.
"Ahhh! Come on, don't cry!"
After taking a deep sigh, Kled twisted the sword one last time in the rocky terrain, allowing the creature to make its final twitch.
"Even for you, mercy is necessary. Maybe I should find a quicker way of death for your kind."
But of course, the creature being made of marble did not make this easy. Rising from where he sat, he pulled his black, shining sword from between the rocks and swung it sharply to the side, allowing the silver-colored liquid to separate from the sword. There were a few dents and cracks. Fighting with the creature's marble body was weakening it. He needed to do more detailed research for a better sword. He should focus more on material science lessons. As the sword slowly retreated to rest in its sheath, he jumped from the creature's top onto the soft ground.
[You have harvested a Rised Echo.]
A young woman's voice echoed in his mind. The chip that had been implanted in his brain through a special surgery by his caretaker when he turned five had not left him alone for the past ten years. According to his caretaker, it could be a good companion, but for Kled, unnecessary sounds were too much during moments of solitude. Especially talking to artificial intelligence was not his thing.
'At least it's in my head,' he thought.
[Kleeeddd! My dear, this is the third Rised Echo you've cut down.]
'I should disable unnecessary comments,' he thought, taking a deep breath.
While brushing off the dust from the creature from his jacket and pants, he surveyed his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. The sun had reached its peak, and at this time of day, another creature could appear at any moment. Although there was no creature in this area that he would have difficulty killing, there was always the possibility of an ambush. Also, today was his final exam, and if he was late, his caretaker's method of punishment was not sweet at all, contrary to her appearance. Walking towards the cliff near where he fought the creature, he looked at the thin and long rocky mountains rising in the mist, with a few cherry trees branching out on them.
'A few hours left to my freedom. Of course, if I can get through it without dying!'
He smoothed his wrinkled face with his hand. He had been preparing for this battle for two years, and finally, this battle was the last one. He would be able to immerse himself in his research and books as much as he wanted. There was a vast world and resources waiting to be discovered before him. There were many questions he sought answers to. Why was he the only human, and where had the creatures that turned this world into hell come from? Where had the humans disappeared to? None of the sources he had accessed so far provided answers to these questions. It was as if everything was going well, and then suddenly everyone disappeared. Either no one was left to leave a source behind, or he had not yet reached it. It was clear that his caretaker could partially answer his questions, but according to her, these matters should remain secret until he passed his final exam. The others had no idea.
'Just a few more hours!' he thought as he jumped off the cliff.
"Hover Board!" he called out. As he glided down the cliff, a board made of white metal with gold embellishments appeared under his feet. When his shoe with a black rubber sole touched the board, a magnetic sound rose. He felt the coolness of the wind that ruffled his hair with the effect of the fall. As he reached the bottom of the cliff, the board drew a wide arc and began to fly over the grass that spread across the wide area. With the effect of his speed, the whisper in his ear rose. Following the forest that thickened in front of him, he rose and continued, aligning with the tops of the trees.
"Witness my power!" he growled.
When he reached the borders of the forest, he came out onto a flat, green area. It wasn't long before the pearl white city walls rose ahead. The walls were connected to each other with blood-red and gold lines. Their height reached up to a hundred meters. The walls were protected against creatures with electromagnetic weapons located at certain intervals. If we don't count the guardians, the entire system worked solely to protect Kled. Thanks to this, he had been able to spend his childhood in safety. Although the guardians and his caretaker were meticulous about protecting Kled, extra security was always better.
As he approached the city walls, he rose in a wide arc and passed over them. Now the entire city was shining under his feet with its metallic roofs. The houses and streets of the city, where no one but Kled lived, were covered with vines, colorful flowers, and grass. As he descended to the level of the wide streets and some spherical, some semi-spherical houses, he increased his speed. As he approached the exam area, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. The path he was advancing on led to a square with a large stone tower extending skyward towards the clouds in the middle. The tower's walls were earth-colored, and its entire surface was covered with ancient inscriptions in a way he still didn't understand. The magnificent tower dazzled with the blue and white brightness of the sky above the golden square. Without slowing down, he entered the limitless shadow of the tower, looked at the seven dark silhouettes that came into view, and drew his sword from its sheath, cutting through the wind and resting it on his shoulder. Today's exam was to defeat at least one of the seven guardians while fighting all of them.
To perform the final checks before the battle began, he dove into his virtual pool. He looked at the seven columns arranged in a circle on the infinite pearl-white floor. Only one was alive with its black metallic color. A small nest was empty on the small altar in front of the live column. The altar and the area around the column were covered with grass shining with metallic gold. The design of the column matched the city. But even though the other columns were faint, it was clear they didn't belong to the same design. Although Kled didn't yet know what this meant, he had a guess. For this, he first needed to explore different cities.
"Open," he commanded, and with the lines appearing on the column, a long arm opened. The arm had hundreds of slots on it. Some slots were filled with metallic tubes with buttons of different colors at their heads and codes matching the button colors on them. Some were small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, while others were the size of a football. Football was a part of a game he had come across in old records. It was one of the features of old humans that he couldn't understand.
'Why would thousands of people watch a game where 20 people, was it 22 or 23, tried to get the ball into a fishnet?'
With a puzzled expression on his face, he placed three of the tubes into the slots on his belt.
'I can start with these.'
[Final exam. Time remaining: 30 minutes. Good luck, sweetie!]
"What? 30 minutes?"
Kled shook on the rapidly advancing board. He regained balance on the board that was swaying and shouted.
"You crazy? Are you kidding me!"
[You shouldn't talk to a lady like that, my dear.]
"You can't claim to be a lady yourself!" Kled took a deep breath to recover the breath he had consumed.
"Seven guardians and 30 minutes, not even 5 minutes per head!"
Clenching his teeth, he leaned forward on the board, getting into a ready-to-jump position. As he approached the silhouettes, he saw one of them move forward. When the silhouet jumped into the air, dust rose from the ground first, and a pair of wings opened in the air. As expected, Aeris had moved first.