Master Of None

[some other time] {Refer to chapter 855}

"Yes yes, I promised to tell you more about dimensional step Alabastor. I won't lie to you. Just sit and listen." There were two children yet again hounding their father for more stories. They had not stopped asking about the person since they had heard the first story. 

The words focused the children on him and the man swore that he could feel the intensity of their excitement growing but the second. 

"How about we talk about the time he saved his entire merchant caravan? He was very well known as the best guard for any merchant caravan to have by this time. He had shown off his prowess in defeating countless monsters and even some small bandit groups. His ability to step through space and defeat a dangerous attacker before they could swing a sword was outstanding." 

The children leaned in with now plastered on their faces. " The merchant that had employed him had been able to expand their activist and now rand multiple merchant caravans. The largest was said to set off for a far away city being built. It was an opportunity to make a base that no other merchant had yet. Naturally, Alabastor did not turn down the job. He had been working diligently to become more powerful and sharpen his skills. He was well known as a silent assassin that protected people without them even knowing they had been in danger."

" The journey was said to be through a perilous dirt road with first on each side. It had been cut by an unknown monster and was used for years at that point. The problem was that there were always monsters waiting to ambush those that traveled it. The forest on either side made it perfect for ambushing the merchants and making snacks of them." The man tapped his fingers on the armchair he sat in. He gave the children an evil grin to try and spooked them slightly for dramatic effect. 

Many other guards had been enlisted to join them and nothing strange was said to have happened while they traveled from their current town. The merchants that went with them were experienced and knew well that the guards would protect them with their lives. But one merchant was younger and was slower at driving their carriage. That was the biggest mistake that had been made and is currently recorded in the merchant's rules of the road. Never let yourself fall behind." 

"The forest had been darker even in the bright sun. The trees bent over the road and the carriage that fell behind was completely unnoticed by the main group. However, it was picked out by a slithering monster that no longer exists in our world. It was watched by a green horned viper. They grew to the side of three carriages and could swallow one whole without so much as flinching. Their scales could grind the bark off trees and their venom was feared to be unsurvivable." 

The deeper tone of voice made the two children push themselves back slightly. A terrifying monster was one not able to be defeated by anyone. Or so they thought. "The carriage was being driven by the young merchant and he noticed he was alone. He tried to push his horses to move ahead faster to no avail. When he noticed the green tail ahead he fearfully tried to stop before he hit it. But he ever so slightly touched it causing the green horned viper to turn and attack." 

"The fear of death consumed the young merchant and it was said that he had aged ten years in that very moment. His soul couldn't handle the pressure of the attack. But the attack he had felt coming never did. He was silently sitting with his eyes closed before he slowly opened them. The sight he found was one he did not expect to see in his entire life." The two children nearly jumped up to make their father tell them what happened after. The suspense was killing them. 

"The very green horned viper that had been about to take the young merchants' life was on the ground. The head cleanly separated from its body and a single man standing over it contemplating what to do. Of course, it was Alabastor. Having a merchant fall behind was nothing that he worried over. They were still within his protection. He had also noticed the green horned viper watching them. Therefore, the moment it had let its' guard down and attacked, he had made his move." 

"The slaying of that single green horned viper was the very thing that allowed alchemists to derive the very first antivenom to purify the green horned vipers' position. The scales had gone to make shields for many guards. The bones were used to forge bows for many budding archers. Alabastor had put so many things in to motion with this one act. He had changed the flow of time and established a solid base for the merchant group he was guarding. It became known as one of his crowning achievements at the time. No other could have made such an impact so quickly."

The two children were amazed to hear that so much had come from the simple act of guarding a merchant. There was an entire industry founded from this simple protection. "He was also known as a man powerful enough to defeat a monster that could swallow him whole like nothing. It was a decisive battle that showed off his use of spatial magic skills. The spatial slash he had used to sever the green horned serpents head was recorded as an unbeatable skill. Bards took up his songs and praises in an instant."

There was so much more than the man could tell his children. He had found a great many volumes of Alabastors' adventures. But for now, he would be sending them to bed to dream of adventure. 

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