8 years ago

When I was a little child, My mother used to told me stories about heroes.

“Your eyes glimmer when I told you about those stories before bed.”
Said my mother with a lighthearted laughs when she told me about my childhood. Of course, I would be embarrassed every time she told me that.

I mean, I’m already 15 years old now. Everyone in this kingdom know that I have reached the adulthood by age alone. If they know that I, a grown up adult, still loves that kind of childish story, I would definitely be a laughing stock for others.

But, even after all of that stuff I’ve said…

I still want to be a hero.

No matter how childish it looks. No matter how stupid it sounds. I still dreams of becoming one of those heroes myself.

Being able to fight and win against those who are far stronger than you. Being able to slay and tame the mystical and phantasmal beings that far more higher than you. Being able to save a country and its people from their fated ruin and demise.

It’s just… beautiful.

No matter how much hurdle that came into their path. No matter how tall the wall that blocked their way. They always found a way to pass it.

They are so… bright.

Bright enough to give their own light to shine it on others. Bright enough to share their own warmth to others.

For me… it looks like a living miracle.

A miracle that I want to achieve. A fleeting wish that I want to fulfil. That’s how I truly feel about my dreams.

But, a certain man said this to me---

“---That’s pretty much hell you know.”

His clothes and appearance really resemble those who have no home and only lives in the streets. A middle aged man who dressed in tattered cloth. Maybe... he really is one of those guy who lives in the streets.

Some says he’s crazy. Some says he’s insane. Some says he’s just one of those society’s trashes. But for me, he is a thousand more than that.

He often walks me to the old market. There, we would see many kinds of humans doing their activities. During the tour, sometimes we take a little break on the side of the road. Then, he would tell me something like this while pointing his finger to different places.

"---Look at that guy. He’s a great merchant. He could convince his buyer to stick with his product while maintaining high sales price. Must be a smooth talker. Kinda friendly too."

"---And also that one. Even as a fisherman, he always sells at least a hundred kilos of fishes per day. Pretty awesome, right?"

"---And that guy. See, he’s always…"

And so he continues.

He always tries to show me thousands of different men and jobs. It seems, he really against the idea of me pursuing my dream to be a hero.

When I’m too tired to listen one of his lectures, I’ll just drown my self to observe my surrounding area.

Mother said I should try to learn and study many subjects as much as possible when I could.
She said in order to be a hero, power alone wouldn’t suffice.
A certain degree of wisdom is needed to be the perfect hero in the future.

And of course, I don’t understand what she meant at first. I thought, being a hero means you’ll just need to have an overwhelming power to defeat your enemies, right?

You’ll go on an adventure with your party, finding legendary treasures, save the world from a mass destruction with your trusted and beloved friends, so… why would I need to learn and study? Shouldn’t practicing sword or spear while keeping our body in it’s best condition would be more fitting? But of course, those foolish opinion of mine changes as time goes by.

As I’m getting older, I’m starting to understand the necessity of wisdom. The case of Camburg would be the perfect example. A small city that were built at the foot of Mount Camburg, a gigantic mountain at the corner of the kingdom.

The place was really close with the border of the kingdom and meant to be a post for travelers who’ve passed the mountain from other country when they need some rest. But for the plan to succeed, the mountain needs to be secured from dangers. Monsters and humans alike.

Since the mountain were filled with black beasts, the kingdom issued a full scale eradication of the black beasts who live within the mountain. The huge hunt began.

Professional hunters, adventurers and soldiers unite under the king’s order, surrounding the mountain and launched an assault on the beasts. As a result, 1,675 black beasts were killed in six hour.

So, the mountain is now safe and the city would operate as a vital point of the kingdom’s economy and gate to the outside world tomorrow--- or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be.

The plan terribly backfired from it’s original goal and gave the opposite result. Due to ignorance or lack of knowledge, the hunters didn’t seem to realize the grave mistake that they made at the time.

Unlike animals or normal beasts, black beasts evaporate to the air when they die. Instead of leaving corpses behind, they’ll explode into small black particles and blend with the wind.

Usually, this kind of phenomena gives no harm. It’s usual after all. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everybody know that the black beast is different.

They were born from the miasma of an ancient being from thousand years ago. So when their physical bodies are destroyed, it’s not weird for them to return into their previous form.

And so, the thick black miasma covered half of the mountain until this very day, making the place unhabitable for any living being.

The city was engulfed too, and almost 200.000 lives are gone at the incident. Fortunately, the king still have some common sense and the survivor were treated justly after the incident.

The king gave them houses, jobs, and golds as his way to seek forgiveness. Some were moved and decided to forgive him. But many others hated and despised him for the scars that he left on their heart.

Because of his foolishness, his reign of the kingdom weaken for an extended period of time. But luckily, with the support of his people, he could stay on the throne without any problems.

This 10 years old case is the perfect example for the necessity of knowledge and wisdom. You can’t save people by will alone. Even if it started by a good will, the end wouldn’t be good by will alone.

You have to know and understand the problem that they face and the risk that they hold before taking an act... or else, the dire consequences of your action would come back and bite you hard.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something that I learnt from mind and speculations alone.
Some people said that experience is the best teacher.

And I... have proved it with my very own life.

And so, the homeless man resume his talk while we step farther inside the market. The shops were starting to get blurry. The sky starts to paint in white.

The countless person inside the market starts to seems hazy. The only thing that I could see in this moment, is the back of a child and someone dear to him.

Just like in a painting, where they are the only drawing in the canvas. Within this fuzzy memories... my dream continues.