Once upon a time, there was a boy named Rico. He was born without a left arm. On the same day, another boy named Mathew was also born complete body and blessed with divine powers.
Five years later, both boys began training. But whenever they dueled, Rico was always defeated and bullied by Mathew and his servant. After losing each duel, they always beat him black and blue and whipped, so that he will not dare to challenge Mathew again.
But Rico always challenged him again, every week. Once he had recovered, even just a little.
"Rico, you're really naive. Do you think with just one arm you can defeat me? You don't even have sword aura," Mathew sneered.
Rico knows that Mathew was gifted, not only in looks but also in his strength and power. At the age of 5, Mathew had awakened his sword aura, and his strength had skyrocketed ever since.
But Rico doesn't care about Mathew abilities and whatnot, he only cared about training. To him, Mathew was nothing more than a training dummy[1] and a wall to catch up.
Even though Mathew and his servants treated him harshly, spiritual and physical, he didn't mind. He saw it all as part of his endurance training.
By the time he turned 18, Rico continued training alone into the deep forest away from Mathew and his servant sight.
One day, a witch happened to stumble upon a young man with only one arm, diligently swinging a wooden sword with his right hand. His body was covered in scars and sweat, front and back. The witch silently watched him, intrigued by his persistence.
But then
*Crack!
He accidentally stepped on a thin branch.
Panicking, he tried to flee. But before he could take a step, a wooden sword blocked his path.
"Who's there?!" shouted the one-armed young man.
The witch hides quickly behind the tree and didn't dare not to move.
"Meow~," the witch hiding behind the tree responded in a cute, awkward tone.
Rico narrowed his eyes.
'I need to run, the witch thought.
But as he moved to escape, Rico swiftly blocked him with his body, pressing him against the tree kabedon style[2], his eyes cold and fierce.
"Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice.
'So fast! The witch though.
The witch hiccupped. Embarrassed, he tried to stop it with his hands but failed. Rico stared at him, clearly wanting to interrogate further. But seeing the man's innocent expression and how helpless he looked with his nonstop hiccups, he sighed and stepped back.
Without a word, he turned and walked away.
The witch, still hiccupping, tried to calm himself by patting his chest. Suddenly, a hand stopped him. Rico had returned, silently offering him a porcelain cup filled with water.
Though the hiccups made drinking difficult, the man managed to drink it all, thanks to Rico's steady support.
The man quietly said, "Thank you."
The one-armed young man nodded, turned away, and placed the porcelain cup into his dimensional space bag. Then, without hesitation, he resumed his training, his movements sharp, relentless, and focused.
The man, still standing there, couldn't help but stare as the young man continued his routine.
'Is he not bothered by my presence?' the man thought, watching him swing his sword with unwavering dedication. Despite the scars and sweat, the young man never faltered. He trained as if the world around him didn't exist.
Unbeknownst to the young man, the stranger watching him wasn't an ordinary human. He was Navi, a witch.
Witches were powerful beings, each carrying a curse. Their magic was unmatched, but using their witch power against another being came at a terrible price, they would be trapped in that place forever. Immortality turned into a curse when forced to live eternally in the same spot.
For beings who lived long, wandering and experiencing the world, that kind of imprisonment was unbearable.
The only way for a witch to truly die was to be stabbed with a Star Weapon, an artifact so rare, many believed it to be a myth.
Navi, who had lived countless years, He had wandered the world, waiting to find someone worth he could fine to continue living.
And now, he had found him.
A host.
Navi's eyes softened as he watched the young man swing again, sweat trailing down his scarred back.
'I found you,' he thought.
'My new host.'
[1] bro if Mathew knows that he will kill him hahahah
[2] ara ara~