Link

Once upon a time, there was a great swordsman. He lived in a small town near the castle. His sword sliced through the air as he practiced. Children watch in awe as he continues swinging. His green cap moves with the air as he spins. The townspeople were mostly peaceful adults with a few children, but he was different. He was younger than an adult and was the youngest swordsman. He wielded a sword like nobody has ever seen. The children cheered for him as he slew monsters harassing the town. Nobody could perform his clean swings and jabs. But this made him an outsider. The townspeople didn’t want to do anything with him. They didn’t like violence. One day, a mysterious traveler came by. The day the traveler arrived was special. It was the day of a sacred competition. The winner would be awarded the chance to see a sacred blade, created to ward off evil spirits hundreds of years ago. The swordsman wanted to prove himself as part of the town. He enters the castle. Soon, the traveler walked into the castle, where the swordsman awaited. A bell rang. The competition had begun. But the traveler was no ordinary person. He was a mage. The traveler summoned a spell, instantly knocking out the swordsman. The bell rang again. The crowd looked at the traveler in disbelief. However, no rule prevented mages from competing. The minister of the castle walked towards the mage.

“Congratulations traveler! You have just won the competition. Guards! Bring the blade forward”

Four guards carried a golden box with a sword pedestal on the top. The blade shines beautifully in the light. The traveler smirked.

“Thanks, but I want the thing inside the box!”

The traveler shoots a ball of darkness at the box, shattering the sacred blade. Evil spirits explode out of the box. The traveler walks towards the box and looks inside.

“What? All it contained were spirits? I will find this energy. I will continue searching for it!”

The traveler disappears in a puff of smoke. Darkness falls upon the land.

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The swordsman wakes up in a bed. He looks around and sees the castle’s flag hanging on the wall. He gets up and leaves the room. The king looks at him from his throne.

“Kid, what is your name?”

“My name is Link”

“Well Link, as you may already know, a mage defeated you in the competition”

Link winces. The king puts his hand on Link’s shoulder.

“However, he didn’t want the honor. Rather, he was searching for some sort of energy, breaking the sacred blade in the process. Link, I want you to take the blade and find a blacksmith in the dark forest. He will repair the blade, which you will use to defeat the mage. Do you understand?”

Link nods.

“Good. We will provide you with a sword and map. Good luck”

Suddenly guards crash from the door.

“Sire! There are monsters everywhere! They are destroying homes and farms!”

Link turns around and faces the guards.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them”

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Link sheathes his sword as he looks at his map. The number of monsters was ridiculous. He slowly follows his map until the sun stopped shining. He looked up and found himself in the middle of the dark forest. He unsheathes his sword and walks forwards. A branch snaps to his left. He turns and sees nothing. More branches snap. Twenty monsters appear all around him. Knowing he won’t be able to fight all of them, Link runs deeper into the forest. Link looks behind and sees all of the monsters running at a full sprint. A house appears in his vision. He quickly opens the door and locks it behind him. Hands fall on his shoulder.

“Why are you this deep in the dark forest kid?”

“Are you a blacksmith?”

“I am. What do you need?”

“The king sent me to repair the sacred blade”

“The sacred blade? Let me see it”

Link hands over the blade to the blacksmith. He looks at it and frowns. He takes pieces of the blade and places them on an anvil.

“The blade has been badly damaged. But I can still repair it”

Several hours pass. Finally, the blacksmith stops.

“It’s all repaired. Its power is unbreakable so don’t worry about it. Here you go, kid”

The blacksmith gives the blade back to Link. As Link holds the blade, light shines from his palm. The blacksmith stares at Link in disbelief.

“You are the only one who can wield this sword, Link. You have an energy nobody else has”

Before Link could ask how he knew his name, a sinister laugh can be heard from the forest. Link grips the hilt tighter and runs outside the house. Dark mist starts filling the forest. Link runs out of the forest, but the mist follows. Link arrives at the castle. The dark mist dissipates, revealing the mage. He smiles as he walks towards Link. A dark ball appears in his hand.

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The ball rushes at Link. He blocks with the blade, absorbing it. The mage looks at Link.

“I should’ve known it was you. Why would you be at the competition if it weren’t you?”

Dark lightning strikes from the sky. Link was still standing, with the blade shining brighter than ever. Link swings at the mage, releasing a beam of light. The mage is knocked back as the beam hits. Anger flares in his eyes. He releases a beam of energy at Link. The blade shakes as it absorbs the beam. Link feels his energy drain as he holds the blade. He can’t contain the energy much longer. The beam stops and Link collapses. The mage laughs.

“You were weaker than I thought hahaha. I will become unstoppable when I have your energy!”

Link tries to get on his knees but his strength fails him. He collapses again. The mage laughs again. Sensing something was wrong, the blade releases a wave of light, blinding the mage. Link, collecting his energy, stands up and picks up the blade. He looks at the mage.

“I may be weak to you, but I am here to protect everyone from you”

Link releases the light at the mage. As the light fades, the mage was nowhere to be seen. Link had won. Light fills the sky. The king walked up to Link.

“Link, you saved us all. And for that, we all thankful”

Link looks around and sees the townspeople. They looked at him and smiled. Link had proven himself. The birds chirped and children played. The town was safe and everyone lived happily ever after.