I Hate Being The Protagonist

Lucidel's mouth curves into a devilish smile, which indicates he cooked up a mad idea."I have a proposition for you.”

"What is it?" I ask while performing a handstand, putting all of the weight on one arm while releasing the other.

"Would you try and become a Sword Saint?" he asks in an every-day-question type of tone.

Lucidel has been training me even after class, since my stamina grew past the limitations of an hour or two of training. Soon, it will be the mark of a whole year passing for me in Obiwon. I've been training for a full year, reaching 12 years of age.

Lucidel and I have made our bond firmer, but still respect each other and address everything professionally. He has taken a liking in me as a student, since I've shown an insane amount of talent and progress during these 12 months.

"A Sword Saint?" I repeat, climbing down from my handstand.

A Sword Saint is an insane thing to throw out like it's just a title you can easily collect. The youngest sword saint is now 32, but was 23 when he became a Sword Saint. If I were to rise to the title, I would be a record holder by beating the record with an 11 year difference. In half the age of what the youngest Sword Saint when he grabbed the title.

"You'll beat Yue Zue by 11 years if you become a Sword Saint now. Guille is 70 years old, and every other Sword Saint is over 50 years old. You're going to be a miracle, blessed by the High Gods."

"By the High Gods?" I ask, not having heard the name before.

"You haven't heard of the High Gods?" Lucidel asks while raising an eyebrow. "I should've guessed a 12 year old doesn't know what the High Gods are. I forget that you're a kid from time to time... Anyway, the High Gods are ones that have their domains in the dimension between worlds. Midworld as they call it."

"What’s a Midworld? A dimension between worlds? What does that mean?"

Midworld

Lucidel explains how it connects the Overworld with Heaven and Hell, along with the dimensions where the High Gods reside. It is a kind of Hub, able to connect multiple dimensions through it. The craziest part was that Lucidel has visited the dimension on multiple occasions, being sent on a mission through Midworld.

"You've been to another dimension? What is that like?" I ask, acting like I've never been in a different dimension. Pluto's realm—where I trained to enlighten myself—was an out-of-this-world experience, so a natural dimension connecting every other must be even more fascinating.

"It is very similar to the Overworld, but has nothing beyond the sky, and nothing below the floating islands. The levitating islands are suspended above the clouds. It's quite pretty, although that's not my type of place."

"The general doesn't appreciate beauty?" I tease, chuckling to myself while imagining such a serene place and the strict general grumbling to himself.

He smirks, flicking my forehead. "I never said anything about not marveling at the beauty of it. I'm just not the one for such a peaceful place. I was taught that peace is only an illusion. War and fighting is my scheme. Midworld has no conflict, it doesn't seem natural. And not everyone can travel through it, since the floating islands are separated pretty far from one another."

"Next thing you'll tell me you can fly," I joke, grabbing my forehead from the enthralling story about a different dimension.

"Of course I can," Lucidel grins widely, lifting his body from the ground.

Am I dreaming? What is this madness he just displayed? My jaw dropped into the floor, completely bewildered by Lucidel simply levitating off the ground in front of me. He assumed a cross-arm posture, with his legs close to one another, like he was standing on air.

"What is it? Never seen someone fly before?" he asks, amused by my reaction.

"H-how!?"

I tried to fly many times in my short life. I used wind magic in all kinds of ways, even using fire magic to try and utilize combustion to lift myself off the ground. These never worked for some reason, as I would plummet into the ground after a few failed tries. I couldn't lift myself consistently and stay airborne.

After the dream of flight collapsed under the weight of my failures, Lucidel brought them back to life with a simple demonstration.

I never asked my mother why I couldn't achieve flight, since that was the only thing I couldn't do, no matter how hard I tried. She complimented me on my every success, so I didn't want to ruin my perfect record.

"I've been given the permission," he blatantly responds.

"Permission? To fly?"

I've never been so confused after such a simple answer.

"You see, flight is an ability that is limited in our world. In Heaven and in Hell too. It is one of the things that no one can access unless granted permission by very strong and influential beings. If you gain enough strength, you break through the barricade and are able to achieve it on your own. However, this is highly unlikely as you'd have to be noticeably stronger than me to break through the barricade. I myself was granted permission."

"By whom!?" I ask loudly.

"In Hell, the King himself has to give you permission. I'm not acquainted with who gives the permission in Heaven, but in the Overworld, the Rulers were the ones giving permission."

"The Rulers!?"

I guess they are a bit stronger than what I anticipated. The books describe them as immensely powerful, immeasurable by normal standards. They are rumored to be able to influence the whole Overworld and all of the planets and galaxies above. The whole universe we live in was at the palm of their hand. At least that's what rumors told of.

I ask Lucidel about the Rulers, and if they are as powerful as the books describe them.

"Kid, they are even stronger than that. They were the ones who set up the barricade. I don't exactly know how, but they were definitely involved in it. If I were to guess, it might've had to do with the High Gods. They are beings powerful enough to be put in the same category as the Hands, even beyond them if the rumors are true."

"Are the High Gods as strong as the Rulers?"

"I wouldn't know... What you're asking is highly classified information. I'm convinced you aren't a spy, even though I had my suspicion because of your maturity and the information about Guille you had. I'll tell you the classified information since you'll find out most of it when you become a Sword Saint," Lucidel says without doubting whether he should talk about this.

"When I become a Sword Saint? Not if I become a Sword Saint?" I ask, seeing that Lucidel already adopted the idea of pushing me into the rank of best swordsmen in the world.

"Who are you kidding kid? You've got better skills with the sword than most of the soldiers I lead, and every single grown up I saw except the Sword Saints."

I nod, thanking him for the compliment.

"You asked if the High Gods are as strong as the Rulers... To be honest, I have no idea. My mind is biased towards the Rulers since one of them was my king, and still is. I've only met one High God, and that is the Supervisor, a being that looks over our 8 natural gods. You're familiar with our 8 gods, even though only 5 of them are alive currently."

The 8 gods are ones of water, air, earth, lightning, war and strength as the lesser gods. The god of fire should be the ninth god, but he died long ago, permanently. The remaining two gods are Prismus, the god of light, and the Devil, the god of darkness and evil.

The lower gods, that being everyone except Prismus and Satan, are only a title that can be given to a single person. The gods themselves change throughout the millennia, as new gods replace them. The title does change your genetics, as you become a race known as gods. This change in genes allows for gods and demigods to exist as a separate race.

The lesser gods are incredibly weak, not being enlightened. They overlook the natural forces, but serve no important role in the modern era. They were substituted by stronger beings long ago, as the power scale shifted from their hands into ones of mortals stronger than them. The ones who overtook the positions of 'true gods' in this world couldn't really be called mortal either, as they are the kings and queens like my mother and the Rulers. They far surpass any of the gods, even Prismus and Satan.

Now, only 5 of the gods are alive, as the others died and still have no substitute.

"So you've met a High God... What is he like?"

"The Supervisor. He is enlightened, and stronger than Prismus. He isn't a warrior god, so his strength isn't all that great. Although weak compared to the other High Gods, he is still much more powerful than me. He could be classified as the pinnacle of tier 5 mages, still not entering the Ascended zone. The other High Gods are definitely in the Ascended tier, since they are thought to be on the same level or stronger than the Hands."

"What are the other High Gods like? What do they do?"

Lucidel stops for a moment, thinking about something. He raises one hand, but doesn't let out a single word. He sighs, seemingly not knowing what to say.

"It's a lot of information to soak up in this short amount of time. How about you find out about the High Gods yourself. When you become a Sword Saint, you'll be told of everything you want to know."

"That's no fun. You know how much information I can receive! At least tell me how many there are," I argue.

"4."

"That's a short response. I won't ask any further," I declare, raising my arms at the floating Lucidel in defense.

He lowers himself, clearing his throat. "To conclude this conversation, I'm taking you to the dueling arena in Holdanis. You're going to become a Sword Saint."