"I told you father! He has no talent for the sword. he's a useless bum. What's the use of this?" A fifteen years old boy, black hairs, looking similar to Noah was grumbling in front of his father, Duke Michael Starlink.

"I'll be the judge of that. Stop your whining." Michael berated the young boy. He was Noah's elder brother, Hank Starlink.

Being scolded by his father, Hank immediately went silent. Michael then turned to his eldest son, also the eldest brother of Noah, James Starlink.

"James. Check him." Michael commanded.

"Yes father." James bowed his head and moved towards the center of the training field, where Noah was standing with his wooden sword.

He pulled a wooden sword from the stands and stood opposite Noah.

"Don't worry Noah. Father just wants to check something. Come at me with your strongest move, I'll try to stop you, okay?" James said softly, with a wide smile. His eyes had care and love for his younger brother.

Noah just smiled and nodded back. James was the only one except his mother, who genuinely loved him. he always took care of him and protected him from getting scolded by his father and from the bullying of Hank.

"Begin!" Michael bellowed.

James took his stance, waiting for Noah to take the first strike. But Noah kept standing still. He kept looking at the wooden sword in his hand. He knew all this was not real, it had already happened in the past. The first time he was asked to do this, he couldn't show any skill with the sword. James just casually parried his every attack.

The same scene was repeating itself again. The same humiliation and disappointment will follow once more. No matter how much he tried, Noah could never wield the sword. he had no skill with it at all. And being born in a family where each generation produces sword prodigies, he was the greatest shame and oddity, destined to be neglected and frowned upon.

Noah released a deep sigh. He finally understood what the trial was. It was to test his will and conviction. And also, a chance to let go of his regrets. He stood up tall, his eyes shining with determination. He looked at his eldest brother and smiled.

"I'm sorry brother." Noah threw the wooden sword down on the ground and turned around, looking right into his father's eyes.

"I have no talent with the sword father, and I don't like the sword, at all. No matter how much you, or I myself try, I will never be good with it. I have no destiny with it." Noah said firmly.

Michal brows twitched. Black lines formed on his forehead. he was visibly annoyed and furious at Noah.

"Noah! Apologize. You can't speak like that to father." James ran to Noah and immediately scolded him, asking to apologize.

"I won't elder brother. I've said nothing wrong. You know that I really am not blessed by the sword. I have no talent in swordsmanship. Hank knows it, everyone in the duchy knows it, even father knows it. Then why is he doing all this? For his pride? Why should I suffer for his stubbornness?" Noah blurted out all his frustration.

"What the hell is he doing? Won't he fail like this? just swing the sword at your brother and be done with it." Shane yelled in frustration.

Stormbreaker had raised a screen with the small flames, where all four of them were spectating Noah's trial.

"It's not that easy Shane. This is not a trial to defeat his brother. It's a trial to test his will. Everyone gets a different trial. Noah knows what he is doing. Have faith in him." Luke said with a smile. He was confident that Noah had realized till now, what the test was about.

"Being a Starlink, if you can't wield the sword, then you better not use anything at all. Don't become my shame, if you can't be my pride." Michael said coldly.

"I wanted this to go on without a hassle. But I guess, you'll only learn this the hard way." Michael sighed, shaking his head helplessly. "Bring it out!" He roared.

The soldiers at the back opened the gates of the training room, when two wizards entered with a small puppy in their arms. It had golden fur and large watery brown eyes. The puppy jumped up in excitement when it saw Noah at the distance, wagging its tail.

Noah sighed helplessly. Everything was proceeding just like how it went all those years ago. The puppy brought in by the two wizards was his pet dog, Manny. He loved the puppy very much. Wherever he went, it would stick to him like glue, never leaving his side, but this was the day, when his father made him do that cruel thing.

"All this is happening because you are too soft. You have to complete the ritual of killing your emotions. That is the last way for you to awaken your sword talent." Michael said solemnly. He then turned towards the two wizards and nodded.

One of the wizards held the jaw of the puppy and opened it wide, the other one opened a glass vial with a shiny crimson liquid and poured it down the puppy's throat.

Just after a few seconds the puppy's body started convulsing. Its tail stopped wagging. Eyes turned red. With it's canines out, it started growling and barking. Saliva dropped like a waterfall from its mouth. Its senses were impaired and went berserk, with only one vision in mind, attack.

The wizard then threw the puppy towards Noah. Seeing him closest, it started rushing towards him, saliva flying back out of its mouth as it ran forward, ready to bite the flesh off of Noah.

CLANK! CLANK!

Michael threw a steel sword towards Noah. it landed right beside his feet with a clanking noise, striking the floor.

"If you want to live, kill that puppy of yours. Or else it will bite your neck off." Michael said with a smirk

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.