"Waaaaah! Waaaah!"
"Is he crying too much? Is he okay?" A woman, the mother of the baby, was holding a newborn in her hands with worry, trying to soothe his crying.
She had beautiful jet black hair.
"Don't worry, it is healthy for a baby to cry after birth," said the father.
He was around 178 centimeters. Unlike his wife, he had blueish black hair.
"But… isn't this too much? What if something's wrong?"
"What your husband said is correct." An old man interfered. "He is crying like any other newborn baby. Trust me, I have seen many babies born."
The old man's gaze shifted to the baby's arms. "Now, we need to talk about his crest."
The mother hesitated. "…Why is he different? Chief, have you ever seen a baby with two crests before?"
"No... This is a first for me. But our records show that it happened before, a total of seven times," the chief answered.
"Really? Then, he will be okay, right?" the mother said with hope.
The chief's expression darkened.
"Don't be hasty. It is not okay. The first baby born with two crests is said to be so strong that she could easily fight against five nations alone.
So, those same nations tried to raise the second and third ones. But with two crests, they didn't feel loyalty to either nation.
After that, the five nations agreed to... not allow any other babies with double crests to be after that."
"What!? Chief, no! You can't do that. I won't let you kill my baby!" the mother cried out. The father also stepped in front of them to shield them from the chief.
"Sigh... Don't worry, I don't intend to do that. The Crest of War and the Crest of Knowledge. It is a first for a baby to be born with both of the strongest crests.
But he can't stay here. Barbarians will come here soon. The war is nowhere near the end."
The mother's tears spilled over as she stared down at her son.
"Then what do we do? Please, Chief… help us. How do we save him?"
"There is only one thing we can do. We will seal his Crest of Knowledge and give him to the barbarians. At least, he will be safe there."
---
Why are we scared of beasts?
Even when we are stronger, when we are smarter, we are scared of them.
Because we are not scared of losing, we are scared of getting hurt.
When two beasts fight, they don't care if their arms are ripped off as long as they win and survive.
But we want to survive while holding onto all our limbs. We don't want to get hurt.
And that is why we lose.
Unlessyou are a barbarian, like me, Caelen.
Barbarians are the citizens of the strongest nation, Barbara.
We are all strong. Our crest gives us the strongest abilities.
Our bodies are built like stone. They are tough and invincible.
Et cetera, et cetera...
Well, that is true for others. I am different.
For some reason, I am shorter than the others.
All the barbarians are taller than 180 cm at the age of 15, while I am only 175.
Their grip strength, jumping height, endurance... I fall short in every category, even though I give double the effort.
But the worst part is not them. The worst part is that I am scared.
I am scared of getting injured or even hurt.
Even though I am a barbarian, I don't want to lose my limbs...
---
"Stop it, Caelen! You don't need to dodge! We will heal you when you get hurt!" The bulky man, around 2 meters, shouted.
"I am sorry, master."
"Sigh... You even have a shield. No other Barbarian has one. The least you can do is use it properly. And the one-handed sword... It was hard to find one. Use them!"
"Yes, master!"
"Now, come at me!"
***
"You shitty brat. You lose if you are scared. How many times do I have to tell you this?"
"Master, hasn't this punishment gone on long enough? You're too heavy, please get off my back..."
"Shut it! You couldn't even give me a small scratch. Do another hundred push-ups. You are already fifteen, the test will be held next month."
"Yes, master!"
"If the crystal doesn't choose you, you'll be cast aside. You know that, right? You'll be unfit to live among barbarians. The real barbarians."
---
My days are always the same. I spend almost the whole day training.
I'm not the weakest, no. When I fight, I can win... sometimes. But I'm not the strongest either.
The best word for me is... average.
And that is only because I am training more than the others. Otherwise, I don't know what I would be.
That is me. Only avera-
"Caelen! Aren't you listening to me?"
"I am listening, Dad. But please ask again."
"This kid... I heard from Taek, your master, that you fainted again today! A barbarian doesn't faint."
"Yes, Dad."
"The same answer again..."
Another bulky man who has around the same physique... my father, Ulgaf, a close friend of my master.
Which is actually the only reason my master, Taek, is training me.
They are known as part of the Barbaric Trio. Even though everyone is a barbarian here, they deserve the "barbaric" name the most.
It is said that the trio was so strong that if they were fighting, no one else was needed on the battlefield.
And the third member?
"Stop bugging him. He knows how a barbarian should be."
My mother, Svea. One of the members of the Barbaric Trio. Don't think that she goes easy on me because she is my mother.
"That is why he will double the training tomorrow!" She continued.
"Mom!"
"Hahaha! This is the barbarian spirit, Caelen."
"But I am already training the whole day. How can I double it? I need another 24 hours."
"Don't be smart with me! A barbarian doesn't think about how. They just do it. If we thought how it, there wouldn't be a Barbaric Trio!"
"Sigh... Yes, Dad."
---
And, in short, that is all I am. An average in the legendary family.
Well, I at least know that I am not their children.
They didn't tell me the details, but it made me feel better.
If I were the average child of a legendary family, it would be hard on me.
Now, I am only sad that they are stuck with me, an average barbarian who is scared of getting hurt.
And that they don't act like I am a stranger. That they love me as if I were their own child since I was a baby...
But I was about to disappoint them.
---
"Lazlek, come to the stage!" One of the three old men wearing red vestments shouted.
It is time... We will be tested now.
All the barbarian children at the age of fifteen were gathered in a hall.
Well, at least the ones living near here. It wasn't possible to gather all the barbarians at this age in one room.
Barbara was the biggest nation, so there were a lot of children at this age.
So, the test would be conducted at multiple places at multiple times each year.
Lazlek, a barbarian child around 182 cm, left his spot among the others and approached the old men.
They were standing in front of a pedestal. On top of the pedestal was a reddish crystal.
It wasn't perfectly shaped, not at all. It could easily be seen as "severed off" from a whole.
The crystal was about as big as the palm of a child. Of course, not a barbarian child.
"You can touch it," the old man said.
Lazlek did as he was told. He was already smiling, sure of himself.
That is how a barbarian should be... Caelen thought.
When he touched the stone, the mark on his left hand shone.
And then, on top of the mark, two light beams appeared.
"Second stage, good job!" The old man said and showed Lazlek to the other side.
The audience, mostly the families of the children, nodded. His results weren't bad.
What they were doing was easy. The mark on the back of the barbarians' left hand was called the Crest of War.
It looked like a trident and was the source of a barbarian's power.
These crests got stronger as their owner trained.
The crystal, on the other hand, measured their powers and potentials. It was red, meaning it only worked on barbarians.
Not that there were any other children but barbarians here...
"Are you scared, Caelen?" a boy near him asked.
He was tall. Taller than all of the other children, standing at 185 centimeters.
And clearly, he wasn't concerned for Caelen.
"If you are scared, I can find you a shield," he smirked mockingly.
"What do you want, Ral?" Caelen asked.
"Nothing, I just want you to watch me and see what a genius barbarian is like. After that, I will make sure Master Taek leaves you and takes me."
Taek, as one of the legendary Barbaric Trio, was sought after just like Caelen's parents were. But none of the trio had ever taught anyone but Caelen.
Of course, some didn't like this fact since Caelen was weak.
Still, Caelen was a barbarian, and he wouldn't stand down, saying nothing.
"Shut it, Ral. No one would teach the likes of you."
"We will see about that," he said and started walking toward the pedestal even before being summoned.
The old man looked at Ral and then at the paper in his hand, "Are you Ral?"
Ral nodded, making the old man smile.
His foresight is already open at his age... the old man thought.
The expectancy increased among the old men and the audience, all of whom were barbarians, after seeing Ral's foresight.
Ral also touched the crystal, and his crest also shone.
But, four red beams left his crest, shocking everyone.
"Fourth stage, really?"
"At his age, it is impossible. Has there been four before?"
"Only once. The great general Preill is rumored to have four."
"This kid's going to rise fast. He'll get a high rank for sure."
Everyone in the audience talked until the old man raised his hand to silence them.
"Ral, right? You seemed to have worked hard." And then, Ral also joined the other children who had completed their tests.
Not without shooting one last smirk at Caelen, of course.
***
More children were tested.
Their crest generally showed two red beams, rarely showing three and one.
Of course, even one was okay. They were children, so as long as they passed, they would be trained.
"Caelen, please come forward."
A silence fell in the hall.
Caelen...
Of course, everyone knew who he was. He was the luckiest barbarian.
Son of the two legendary figures and the student of another.
Caelen approached the pedestal.
The old man looked at him, "Are you scared?"
The most humiliating question for a barbarian. But the old man didn't ask to humiliate him.
He asked because Caelen was shaking.
"No way, I am just excited," Caelen lied through his teeth. Of course, he was scared.
Especially after Ral.
"Good! I didn't expect less." Even the old man thought he would be good.
At least three beams. That was the expectancy.
Of course, seeing four beams twice in a day would be impossible. At least, they thought so.
So, Caelen approached the crystal and put his left hand on it.
He felt something enter his hand, something like energy.
It gathered around the crest on his left hand, and it started shining.
Then... it stopped.
The light faded before anything happened.