Dragon Fantasy Series 024 - Journey to the Magic Realm

Author:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: A powerful and mysterious force; A ring that has long lost its magic; A legendary and peerless divine sword; A precious friendship forged in adversity; An unforgettable and moving adventure story; Who can change the fate of this magic world? Is it the strong magic power, or the tenacious perseverance and unwavering faith of the kind-hearted tribe? Excerpt from the book:
Prologue On a certain day in a coastal town, moonlight poured like water over the vast land, while purple clouds rose in the western sky. Stars sparkled like jewels embedded in the deep blue sky, shifting in unpredictable colors, like an ancient dream.
"Wow, the moon is so bright tonight! It's not even full yet! Strange!" Alas gazed at the unusually luminous full moon, murmuring. The moonlight grew brighter, casting a silvery glow over the surrounding houses. On the distant mountains, flickering lights danced under the moon's embrace, illuminating a quiet town.
Every time the moon was full, Alas felt an indescribable sensation in his heart, but tonight's bright moon did not affect his mood. He wandered as usual on the outskirts of the city, his crimson hair standing out vividly under the moonlight. This year, Alas was almost eighteen, yet he felt no different from years ago. But last year at this time, he was still in that hellish juvenile training camp.
Sigh, thinking back was terrifying. But now, he was free to wander this town. Alas patted the last coin in his pocket, feeling discouraged. If he hadn’t gone to help the beggar, he would have had a bottle of wine—even if it was cheap.
"Am I like a rich man?" He felt no different from the beggar he had just met. Since both his parents had passed away, he had been sent to the juvenile training camp, a place that trained special forces, spies, and informants. It wasn’t a place for ordinary people. Every time Alas thought of the camp, his brow furrowed. The people there were either mad or fools! He still thought the same way now. The instructors and the devilish training methods were unbearable, but he had recently escaped. Though it wasn’t easy, he had done it, thanks to the instructor who loved to drink.
Now he was a homeless, delinquent youth on the streets, at least that’s how others saw him, and he didn’t care. He believed he would one day achieve great things, not spend his life in that hellish camp.
"Let them wait and see!" Alas combed his wind-tossed hair with his hands. He was unlike the other young men in the city, who could settle down peacefully. He always harbored strange thoughts, dreaming of leaving this place and venturing into the distance. But where to go? How far was the distance? Alas didn’t know, but he stubbornly believed that youth was for wandering and adventure. Otherwise, what would there be to look back on when he grew old? He gazed at the deep sky, wondering what lay beyond—blood? Weapons? Shouts? Explosions?
Alas still carried memories of the training camp.
"Damn it!" Alas muttered softly.
"Hey, kid! Long time no see. Off to the docks?" The bartender greeted Alas as usual.
"Aye, I understand you young folks. I was like that when I was young too, heh."
"Can I get on credit for a drink first? I don’t have any money now. It’s not easy to make a living at the docks." Alas said, already pulling up a chair outside the bar.
The bartender was a strange old man—tall and sturdy, with deep-set, sparkling eyes and dark skin. He walked with a limp, claiming his leg had been bitten by a shark during his youth as a sailor. Alas often came to his bar to listen to his tales of youthful adventures. Whenever he spoke of being stranded on a deserted island, his eyes would light up, as if it were the highlight of his life.
"Hmph! Staying in this city all your life won’t get you anywhere, young man?" The old man handed him a drink and then limped over to attend to other customers, turning back to Alas.
"I thought you were going out to sea with them? In these times, more experience is never a bad thing. When I was your age, I was already an apprentice sailor on a ship."
"Is being a sailor an exciting thing?" Alas took a sip of the drink. "Cough cough, this stuff is getting stronger." He turned his head toward the sea, his ears attentive to the old man’s recollections.
"You young folks! It’s not fun at all." The bartender raised his eyebrows, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
"You’ll meet pirates, beasts, sharks—you might even end up at the bottom of the sea someday. Huh." He paused. "But you’ll encounter all sorts of strange things. If you’re lucky, you might even find treasure. Hah, you’d never worry about money for the rest of your life, haha."
The old man approached Alas secretly.
"When I was your age, I went to a deserted island. Wow, it’s hard to believe, but I saw some people glowing with black and white light. I swear I’d never seen them before. They flashed on the beach a few times and then disappeared. Aww, but none of my sailor buddies believed me. In these days, no one believes the truth anyway. Maybe I was just seeing things. But even after all these decades, I haven’t forgotten it. It’s still vivid in my mind, haha."
The old man laughed and limped away.
"Huh, listening to you makes me want to go to sea too. Maybe one day I’ll end up on a ship, haha." Alas took another big sip and gazed at the horizon. Lying on a ship at sea, watching the stars would be amazing. He thought.
"They say there’s a magic world around us, but no one has ever seen it. Haha, they must be crazy to want to get rich like that. They even talked about alchemy. Hmph, I don’t believe it. Has anyone ever seen a stone turn into gold?"
"Haha," the people in the tavern laughed at the bartender’s words.
"Young folks! Being a sailor isn’t easy. You have to learn to live at sea, understand how to deal with changing weather, and—"
Just as the bartender was speaking, Alas suddenly noticed a brilliant light in the horizon, even dimmer than the moonlight. His heart leaped.
"What’s that?"
"So, if you’re afraid of hardship or losing your life, just stay home. But if you want to get rich? Haha, that’s a different story."
The bartender and the patrons didn’t notice the change in the sky. They continued their lively conversation.
In just a few seconds, the colorful light condensed into a mist and faded toward the nearby beach. Then, a dazzling object also fell toward the beach.
"Shooting star?" Alas was surprised. "No, shooting stars don’t have such eerie light. Could it be an extraterrestrial?"
Just as Alas was amazed, the light vanished into the endless sky.
It seemed no one in the city paid attention to the fleeting light in the sky. Everyone was talking about promotions and getting rich. No one cared about these childish fantasies that only young people had.
"Aww, the world is so chaotic now. It’s hard to do business here." The bartender grumbled.
But Alas was curious about the brief flash of light.
"Huh, I’m going to check it out." He believed that the world would always have something new to offer. He finished the rest of his drink in one gulp and leaped up the street, running toward the beach.
"Hey! Don’t forget to pay for the drink!" The bartender watched Alas’s retreating figure.
"Aww, these young folks today!"