The Laughing Swordsman

Otis hesitated.

His father had told him many times before that it was fine to back off once he reached the third step. After all, the reward was not bad while the danger was immense.

He already got quite far, no?

Even if he backed off now, it wasn't like he didn't try.

Otis looked at the ceiling, then closed his eyes.

He mumbled something to himself.

"Coward..."

He laughed bitterly.

"Why... Why am I always so scared?"

A blanket of red energy wrapped itself around Otis, altering his body. His perception of the mana in the air changed.

Normally, mana felt like a hazy mist to him, but now it felt like droplets of clear water. So clear, that he would be able to see his reflection.

His magical affinities had increased.

However, Otis didn't realize this.

Instead, his mind had delved deep into a memory.

...

Otis was sitting on his bed.

He was in his room, lit up only by the moonlight coming in through the window.

His mother was patting his head with a forlorn smile.

"Don't worry, mommy will be back soon, ok?"

Otis looked into his mother's eyes. They were a deep blue like the ocean, holding terrors far below its calm surface.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't respond.

A distant muffled voice made its way into the room.

"I will only wait for so long!"

Otis trembled while a trace of panic flashed by his mother's eyes.

She hurried over to the room's exit.

Otis' eyes widened.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt a void sucking his soul away.

He had to stop her.

Otis opened his mouth once again but said nothing.

His mother gave one last look over her shoulder. She waved with an uplifting smile.

Then, her head turned back.

Otis reached out his hand.

He had to say something, anything.

The words were just at the tip of his tongue.

'Don't go.'

'Don't listen to him.'

'Don't leave me here alone.'

But all his words were sucked away, forever lost in the vacuum of space.

His mother left.

And never came back.

...

Otis told himself it wasn't his fault.

The bed made him too sleepy.

He was too tired that late at night.

His mother simply ran away too fast.

But the real reason always stayed deep in his heart.

He was too afraid.

Otis grit his teeth.

"Damn coward..."

He closed his eyes, letting his tears spill out.

"Why... I just had to speak. That's all I had to do."

He had been told by his father multiple times that he could always back off. There was no need to push himself to lengths he couldn't handle.

But was that really true?

In a few more moments, the walls would seal off his exit.

Yet, Otis didn't even look at it.

He simply walked forward, braving the crushing pressure all the while standing tall.

A frown etched itself onto his face.

"Never again."

A skeletal dragon fell from the ceiling. It hit the ground with a crash, scattering dense clouds of dust in the air.

The dragon was roughly five meters tall and ten meters long.

It brandished its bone wings, as though to tell Otis to bow before him. There were only empty eye sockets in its skull, but it stared down at Otis with grandeur.

Time wore down the skeletal dragon's bones, but could not wear down its pride.

Otis stared back in defiance. There was a fierce look in his hazelnut eyes.

His light brown hair blew with the wind like it was stoic.

Otis grit his teeth.

"Never again!"

Then, the walls collided with a bang, sealing off his exit.

Without warning, the dragon took action.

It dashed towards Otis both swiftly and silently, almost like a ghost.

The skeletal dragon raised its claw, prompting Otis to clench his fist.

An unending wave of vines burst out of Otis' chest, wrapping around the skeletal dragon's various limbs.

For a moment, it was restricted. The vines trembled as they fought against the force of the skeletal dragon.

Then, they snapped.

Otis' pupils shook. A horrendous pain assaulted his mind, nearly sapping away his consciousness.

However, he remained standing.

Hatred continued burning from the depths of his soul.

It overwhelmed his mind, like a tsunami wreaking havoc on a humble village.

Otis hated the person who assassinated his father.

However, he hated himself more.

He could've inherited the legacy.

He would've saved his parents.

He should've been able to live a happy life with them.

But it was all gone.

Because of him.

The skeletal dragon elusively dived down while Otis frowned harder.

He gathered mana and at this moment, it felt like time itself froze.

The mana felt different. If he were a fish, then he would be breathing in water after living on land for his entire life.

He did not fully understand it, but the mana seemed to bend to his will, letting him explore possibilities he never even imagined.

The skeletal dragon was just half a meter away from Otis, about to strike. However, before it could do so, a massive tree grew from under Otis, sending him high into the sky.

The skeletal dragon's claw slammed against the tree, shaking it violently.

Despite the tremors, Otis was unfazed. The skeletal dragon looked up at him while Otis gave a fleeting glance before turning away.

The skeletal dragon flapped its bony wings, somehow using them to fly high into the air. It charged towards Otis, but he was already gone.

The skeletal dragon looked around itself to see a massive forest manifesting before its eyes.

Massive vines shot out towards the skeletal dragon but were slammed aside by the dragon's claws.

The skeletal dragon unexpectedly crouched down and remained still.

Countless vines shot towards it, but before they could reach, the skeletal dragon released a hurricane of bones.

First, the vines were torn apart, then the trees.

Soon, the entire forest was dismantled, leaving Otis with nothing to hide behind.

However, he wasn't afraid.

The skeletal dragon and Otis stared each other down.