The Age of Horrors

Boom, Boom, Boom

A series of punches from the giant blue ape followed Basil as he dodged, trying to escape.

“Ah, why do I have to go through all of this just to learn magic? Isn’t this strange?” Basil complained non-stop while dodging the ape's punches, which were directed by his teacher.

Whenever Basil evaded the first punch, the second one immediately followed without giving him any time to rest. This continued until he would pass out, but after several days, he managed to complete the training without losing consciousness. Over time, he was able to dodge the punches more comfortably.

Once Basil could effortlessly avoid all of the ape’s punches, the teacher threw weights for his arms and legs in front of him the next day, bringing him back to square one. Each time he improved in dodging, more weights were given to him until he was carrying ten kilograms on each of his limbs.

Days passed by.

The teacher finally ordered Basil to remove the weights and stop running away. This time, he was told to face the ape in a direct match.

Basil did as instructed and took a ready stance, waiting for the ape to make the first move.

In the early days, Basil was terrified of the ape, and this fear is what kept him running. But over time, he started to forget the near-death experiences, and after facing the giant blue ape for so many days, his fear slowly began to fade.

The teacher commanded the ape not to attack unless Basil entered its striking range and to focus on defense, only responding to attacks.

Instead of waiting, Basil charged toward the massive ape. As soon as he entered its attack range, a punch came his way, but he dodged it with ease.

Basil sidestepped the blow and moved to the right while the ape’s left arm was still targeting his previous position. He threw a punch at the ape’s side, but his strike didn’t yield the desired result.

Basil jumped back and looked at his fist, recalling how fast he had dodged the punch and even his leap backward moments earlier. He realized his punch had grown stronger, his speed had increased, and his ability to jump had improved. All his abilities had significantly enhanced. Even when he struck the ape, it was just a test punch, but it packed more power than expected, just like his speed in dodging and the distance he covered when jumping.

Basil hadn't had a chance to test his physical abilities for weeks. He was always too exhausted after training to notice, so he was surprised by his progress.

Clenching his fist, Basil thought to himself, "I can do this."

The moment he finished speaking to himself, he charged again at the ape, but this time he didn’t enter its attack range. Instead, he circled around it, waiting for an opening.

Finally, Basil saw a gap in the ape’s defense and lunged at its left leg, aiming behind the knee. Just as he was about to strike, the ape leaped into the air. As it landed above Basil, it kicked him to the ground.

Crash

Basil coughed up a little blood from the impact but quickly stood up, retreating to avoid the ape's other leg, which aimed for him next.

“This won’t be as easy as I thought,” Basil muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth with an eager grin.

Huff...huff...huff Basil was breathing heavily, exhausted, as he lay on the ground, drenched in sweat.

His teacher approached him and said, "As if you could. It’s a creature that has spent its entire life in the wild and is a battle expert. Did you think a novice like you would land a blow on it from the start?”

Basil replied, "But I did hit it once."

The teacher continued, "Yes, you hit it, but that only happened because it was surprised by your sudden increase in speed after removing the weights. When I measure your speed now, you stand no chance against it."

"Well, this was your first match against it, so don’t worry. You did well for your first time," the teacher praised him before handing Basil a potion. "Rest a bit and drink this—it’ll speed up your recovery."

Surprised, Basil asked, "You had this useful thing the whole time and never gave it to me before, Master?"

The teacher chuckled, "Hohoho, well, we had enough time to let you recover naturally before. But since I promised to teach you magic in a year, I need to keep my word. So you’ll have to be in good shape every day to keep up with the training."

"When you’ve rested enough, come join me for a meal. I’ll be waiting for you in our usual spot."

Basil drank the potion his teacher gave him, and after a few minutes, he felt he could move a little. He went to eat with his teacher, and after finishing the meal, he said his goodbyes and headed home.

When Basil returned home, his mother was surprised. Normally, he would come back completely exhausted and unable to move, but this time, although he looked tired, he seemed much more energetic compared to previous days.

Basil talked with his mother while they ate, and suddenly, his expression became sad.

"Mom, aren’t you facing any problems? I’m sorry. I leave in the morning and don’t return until sunset. Over the past two months, I haven’t been spending much time at home. I know you would never ask me to do anything, but please, if you need anything, tell me, and I’ll take care of it."

Latifa, Basil’s mother, saw her son feeling guilty, so she tried to comfort him. "Oh, don’t worry. Anmar often comes to help me, and I spend most of my time with her and her mother, Samira. I don’t feel too lonely, so don’t worry about me. Just promise me two things."

Basil was happy to hear his mother’s words and was ready to agree to anything she asked.

“First, don’t do anything reckless that would put your life in danger. Second, when you meet Anmar, don’t just run away from her. At least greet her—she’s been your friend since you were little, and your behavior toward her has been quite rude.”

Basil nodded along with everything his mother said, but when she mentioned Anmar, he hesitated. However, he had already made up his mind to fulfill anything his mother asked, so he agreed to her second condition as well.

The next morning, Basil woke up early again and ate breakfast with his mother as usual. As he was leaving the house, he ran into Anmar at the door. He tried to avoid her, but he remembered his promise to his mother. So, looking away, he quietly muttered, "Good morning," before quickly heading off.

Anmar was taken aback and said, "Did he just…?" Then she entered the house. "Good morning, Aunt Latifa."

Basil’s mother replied, "Good morning, dear Anmar."

Anmar placed a cloth bag with some vegetables on the table and said, "I thought he wasn’t home the past few days just to avoid me, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Aunt Latifa, where does Basil go all day?"

Basil’s mother answered, "Oh, he said he’s been training in magic with a friend."

"Huh…a friend?" Anmar was shocked by what she had just heard.

His mother, beaming with pride, replied, "Yes, that was about two months ago, I believe. Isn’t it surprising? Basil made a friend other than you."

Anmar forced a smile and said, "Yes, that is quite surprising," then thought to herself, "As if that’s possible. I know more than anyone how little that boy cares about anything other than magic, books, and new discoveries. A friend? Don’t joke with me."

(Back at the forbidden area)

As usual, Basil couldn’t land a single punch on the ape, getting hit over and over every time he tried to attack.

This continued for a week until he finally managed to land a hit on the giant ape.

“Waaaaaah! I finally did it! I did it, Master!” Basil was overjoyed. The punch he had been dreaming about for an entire week finally connected.

Thud

“What are you so excited about, you fool?” The teacher smacked Basil on the head and continued, "All you managed to do was land one punch. Don’t get too excited over this."

The teacher snapped Basil out of his victory celebration, bringing him back to the harsh reality that, after a whole week of facing the ape, he had only managed one punch. This realization made Basil angry, and he resumed training.

He followed the same routine for another month.

One day, while watching Basil fight the giant blue ape, the teacher suddenly said, “Oh, it seems he’s finally starting to hold his own a bit.”

Basil was now exchanging a series of punches with the giant blue ape.

He dodged the punches he could and blocked the ones he couldn’t with his arms, before responding with a mixture of punches and kicks.

“It seems that his frustration over landing only one punch in a week pushed him to improve.”

“Well, it’s been long enough. Let’s have him wear them again.”

The teacher called Basil over and threw the weights in front of him. This time, Basil picked them up and put them on without complaining, then returned to fight the ape. The added weight made his movements slower, but he didn’t let it discourage him.

Every day, the weights increased until he was carrying 15 kilograms on each arm and leg, up from the original 10 kilograms.

Eventually, he was able to fight the

giant blue ape on nearly equal footing, and when he landed a punch on the ape’s body, his teacher called him over.

“That’s enough for today,” the teacher said, tossing the weights to the ground.

After a moment of silence, the teacher spoke again. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be learning magic.”