Ethan was now alone, without friends or family, in a village unfamiliar to him, working hard and struggling to survive.But one evening, when he went into the forest near the village to gather wood, his fate was about to change drastically.
As Ethan walked through the forest carrying several large branches, he eventually came to a small lake he had never seen before.Yet he had been going into this forest almost daily for several weeks now, and this was the first time he noticed the lake — with a diameter of about 30 meters, it certainly wasn't something that could be easily overlooked.
The surroundings seemed to have changed even more since his arrival. A thick mist had settled in and filled the area.
"W-what is going on here?"
A strange atmosphere blanketed the forest.
The disturbing changes did not escape Ethan's notice as he looked around, slightly frightened.A faint, pale-blue shimmer appeared above the water's surface and caught his attention.
He stared at the faint glow, as if enchanted, and quickly lost himself in it.His eyes lost all focus — but only for a moment. Suddenly they widened, seemingly in shock, as his mind snapped out of a trance.
"What the… what was that feeling? It was like falling asleep and never waking up again!"
The thought of simply falling asleep forever — the feeling that came over him when looking at that light — sent a shiver down his spine.
"Hmph. Just as I thought — you really are the one."
A deep voice suddenly echoed behind Ethan.Startled, he turned around and saw a figure over two meters tall, resembling a knight fully clad in silver armor.
"Who are you?" he asked, nervous and surprised to encounter such a figure in this forest.
Ethan carefully stepped back and almost fell into the lake.He was completely shocked to see this person appear out of nowhere behind him.But to his credit, he kept his composure and reacted more with curiosity and caution than fear — unlike how many others might have responded.
The ominous figure suddenly stretched out a hand to the side, and with a flash of pale-blue light, a massive longsword appeared in his grasp — almost taller than the man himself.
"My name is Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer and God's Champion on Earth!God has chosen you — and sent me to bestow upon you the power to save the people of Hoham and deliver them from the cruel Wyvern."
In the middle of the forest, by the edge of a previously unknown lake, the young Ethan stood speechless and stunned, facing the armored stranger.
He immediately realized, once the man summoned a sword out of thin air, that this was no ordinary person.The holy and powerful aura that now radiated from him made him appear like a sun among mortals, confirming Ethan's intuition.
But…Me? Saving them…?!
The very idea of saving the people — those who, like him, had suffered at the hands of magical beasts and monsters —He would be lying if he said he had never dreamed of it. But reality had been harsh.
He was just a simple, weak boy from the countryside.He had watched helplessly during a brutal massacre as his parents and siblings died under the devastating power of the Wyvern.
Every moment of his miserable life, he cursed himself for being powerless. He was filled with sorrow, pain, fear, and despair.He was weak, and he lacked the strength to take revenge.But this declaration…
I can take revenge?!
"Indeed!" declared Asher proudly, ramming the sword's tip into the ground while gripping its hilt with both hands."You, young hero, have proven yourself worthy. Thus, I shall carry out my duty — to train you into a noble warrior who will wipe out this scourge upon the world and restore peace to its people!"
The Champion's proclamation echoed like a storm in the boy's ears.At the same time, a strong gust of wind swept through the area, rustling the trees and branches, and making their clothes billow.
His words struck the young man deeply and ignited a brilliant flame within him — one that nothing could extinguish.It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside him, clearing away all doubt and replacing it with fierce determination.
Hmph. He resisted the ghostlight illusion — that makes him truly a suitable candidate.Even if he lacks talent, he has more than enough resolve!
In fact, Asher's divine perception — which he had used to search for a suitable candidate for hero training — had only scanned for people who matched certain lineage criteria.He had ignored talent, strength, or willpower, because even that had already made it difficult enough to find a living candidate who fit the situation well.But once he found Ethan, he at least decided to test his willpower — to see if he was truly fit to be a hero.
Because he believed that as long as one was determined enough and worked hard, even a lack of talent could be overcome.
In the end, it had been a simple test.Ethan simply had to escape the illusion created by the ghostlight above the lake using nothing but pure willpower.
Sure, failure might've led to a few side effects, but...
If he lacked the will, then he could only curse his own fate.Asher didn't dwell on that possibility any longer.
Once Ethan agreed to learn from Asher — determined to grow strong and powerful, not only to avenge his family and other victims of the Wyvern, but also to protect humanity from the monsters — Asher began teaching him the combat skills he needed and began his training.
Thus began a time of grueling effort and discipline.
Asher spent many years with the boy he had taken in, training him to become a hero.
After their encounter, they left the village where Ethan had taken refuge.Since he had no real connections or attachments to the place and had only lived there briefly, the separation didn't bother him.There was no one to say goodbye to — no one he would ever see again.
From that point on, the two set off on what could loosely be called a training journey.After traveling through the lands of the Kingdom of Hoham for a while, they reached a small mountain range and a high peak — their true destination and Ethan's daily training ground.
It was there that the real training began.
Asher started with the body.For the first few months, he trained Ethan's stamina and physique — making him run up and down the mountain countless times, climb steep cliffs, and more.
It was truly hellish training — pushing Ethan to the brink of collapse more than once.But he endured.
Eventually, after pushing his body to the absolute limit and achieving a build that would make even top athletes envious, it was time for the next stage:
The Awakening.
With Asher's help, and through long meditation where he continuously absorbed mana, Ethan succeeded in awakening after a week of unbroken focus.
Once his already-maxed-out body was further strengthened by supernatural mana, surpassing his previous limits, combat training began.
Asher taught him swordsmanship intensively — but also hand-to-hand combat, self-defense techniques, and survival tactics, all rooted in the knowledge he had acquired in his previous life and proven effective against monsters.
The training lasted a full ten years, until Ethan finally completed his education and emerged a changed man.
At the age of twenty-five, he descended from the mountain range that had been his home for a decade and set off on his mission.
He was now driven by vengeance, freedom, and his role as the Chosen One.
On the Galactic Platform
Once training was complete, Asher left Gaia and returned to the platform floating in the emptiness of space, observing the world's unfolding events from afar.
By now, the platform had developed a small atmosphere and breathable air — not that it was necessary, since Asher, as a Creator God, didn't need to breathe.
Still, it made things more comfortable for him, being a former human who had grown used to air — and now noticed its pleasant aftertaste far more clearly.
Air was like water — but now it was as if that water had been sweetened.
During the eight years in which the boy Ethan grew into a man and was trained by the warrior who called himself "Dragon Slayer" and "Champion of God," darker changes began unfolding in the world.
One year into the training, an unbelievable surge in magical beasts began — flooding the Kingdom of Hoham.
The Wyvern, meanwhile, had descended from its mountain several times — attacking numerous additional villages and even razing an entire city near the port town of Keiran to the ground.
When Ethan finally left the mountain range, he headed straight into the kingdom's heart.Without pause or rest, he traveled from town to town until he arrived at Keiran.
At the time, Keiran was constantly suffering from monster attacks and had been half-destroyed by the Wyvern.
Only the brave soldiers of Hoham and a few volunteers who helped defend the city had prevented it from being completely overrun.
Even the village where Asher had once found Ethan had already been destroyed by monsters.
But for the people of Hoham — and especially Keiran — a light appeared in the darkness when a certain man arrived in their city:
Ethan.
When this muscular man, clad in light armor and wielding a great broadsword — a gift from his master — appeared, the tides quickly turned.
He hurled himself into battle without hesitation, slaughtering the magical beasts attacking the city with unmatched strength.
It took less than two days for him to cleanse the area around Keiran of all magical beasts.
It was an unprecedented display.During that time, he took no breaks, fighting relentlessly until he had slaughtered every single monster, down to the last one.His merciless fighting style practically screamed his deep hatred and disgust for these creatures.
For Asher, none of this came as a surprise.
Though the hordes of magical beasts were vast and seemingly endless, most were only F- or E-rank, and Ethan by that point had reached C-rank.
His strength far outclassed that of the monsters — it was like a lion tearing apart gazelles.
Once he had wiped out the monsters around Keiran, Ethan continued his journey, drawing closer to his goal.
He ventured into the monster-infested regions and fought his way alone through the creatures toward the mountain where his nemesis resided.
After three months of tireless, unrelenting travel through dangerous, enemy-filled lands, he finally reached his destination:
Mount Kerhan.
Mount Kerhan was a towering mountain with a flat peak, near several villages and towns in Hoham.It was widely known as the Wyvern's lair.
"Huff! Finally... I'm here!"
Ethan wiped the sweat from his brow and stared up at the mountain he was about to climb.
He made no pause. With a burning gaze and blood boiling, he began the ascent.
By now, he was a master climber — even before awakening, he had been skilled at scaling cliffs.Now, as an awakened warrior, it was child's play. It took him only a few hours to reach the top.
And when he finally arrived, he saw it — the massive nest of the Wyvern atop Mount Kerhan.
The nest resembled an oversized bird's nest and contained three enormous eggs.But of the Wyvern itself, there was no sign.
Ethan drew his greatsword, reminiscent of Siegfried's, and immediately assumed a cautious battle stance.
He scanned his surroundings carefully and confirmed — the Wyvern wasn't there.
His calm yet furious eyes, full of anticipation at finally meeting his long-hated enemy, gave him away — but trained by a master warrior, he kept his emotions in check.
After inspecting the area and finding no trace of another creature, he decided to investigate further.
Ethan closed his eyes, channeled his mana, and spread it out in all directions — enhancing his senses.
It was a simple technique, one that amplified the five senses through mana and elevated perception to a superhuman level.
But even when his magical power covered a radius of over two kilometers, he sensed no fluctuations of powerful magical energy — none that should've matched the Wyvern's aura.