Art.
It was the name of the power that people in this world used. But only nobles could access the strong ones.
The reason was simple. Arts weren't fixed, meaning everything could be an Art. But people couldn't create an Art, they could only learn it.
The issue was... No one taught their strong Art for free.
Of course, there were cheaper or even free Arts, but learning them wasn't ideal.
Even though people could learn more than one Art, each Art they learned weakened the other Arts they already had.
Only those with one Art were strong, and they had to choose that one Art wisely.
So, if they were to learn a free and weak Art and encounter an opportunity to learn a strong Art, they couldn't take that opportunity.
Thus, unless it was related to their jobs, most didn't learn the weak Arts.
I, Grey, was also one of those who didn't choose to learn a weak Art... at first.
I could learn the Art of Wood used by the chief and become a good wood chopper. But even though he wanted me to, I refused him many times.
It was only useful while cutting or shaping wood. I felt like it would waste my potential, even though I didn't have anything else.
But, in the end, I accepted it and spent my only chance for an Art to cut wood.
Such a damn luck was-
"Grey, wake up!"
"Ugh! You don't have to hit my abdomen to wake me up, Taek!"
This man... I will definitely beat him when he gets older.
"Stop fantasizing about hitting me and get ready. We are here."
Ah, I must have focused on my thoughts too much...
We were at the entrance of the forest. It was already evening, and we were riding a carriage together with the others who wanted to join the ceremony. There were a total of 15 carriages.
Even though I said it was a ceremony, it was more like a hunting trip. We would hunt till midnight and sleep in the forest.
It sounded dangerous, but it wasn't. There weren't many monsters here anyway. Still, we would sleep in the same area just in case.
After jumping off the carriage, I started walking into the forest with Taek and... Elaine.
She was a girl one year younger than me. We grew up together in this village. Well, she did. I was already a grown-up.
Still, even though there were a lot of people around our age, she always followed me around. She even chose to come to the ceremony, becoming a fighter, just because I was here.
Obviously, I knew why she did so. And if I were to stay in this village, I could even consider her positively, after she was at least 18.
But I wouldn't. I would leave one day to see the world. After coming from a world with technology, sitting in a village the whole day was boring for me.
So, I didn't give her any hope even though she didn't give up, thinking I didn't realize anything.
"Grey, stop dosing off. We are in the territory of the monsters!" Taek warned me.
"He is right. What are you thinking about?" Elaine also asked. She had short, black hair. She always said that her hair hindered her when she was shooting with a bow.
"Nothing. I just forgot to sharpen my axe."
"Isn't that dangerous? What if your axe can't penetrate the Orc's hide?" Elaine asked.
I put my hand on her head. "That would only happen if I had weak arms like yours."
Even though I mocked her, I realized that she was thinking more about my hand on her head than the mocking. So, I removed my hand.
My body was also not bad. The chief was the woodsman of this village. It was ideal since he had the Art of Wood. So, since he was the one who raised me, I had been chopping wood since I was around ten.
And since I was only fifteen now, my body would get better. The only thing I didn't like right now was my half black and half white hair.
My father had blueish black hair, while my mother had jet black hair. So, I didn't know the reason for this.
But I remember my mother telling me that my name came from my hair. So, even though I didn't like the name since it sounded grim, I continued using it even after getting kicked out of my father's household and leaving my last name.
"Grrraaaagh!"
"What is that?" Elaine asked. She didn't want to sound scared, but it was too obvious.
"It must be a wild boar. They will let the children handle it."
It was also another tradition in the ceremony. Children from the age of ten could join it, and the grown-ups would help them with their first hunts.
Still, that was a one-time offer. If they continued next year, they wouldn't get free prey.
I liked hunting monsters. It was one of the things I had dreamt in my past life, like most others. Of course, there were no monsters on Earth.
So, even though I didn't have an Art related to fighting, I at least wanted to join these hunts.
At first, I hunted Orcs while attacking in a group. But this year, I would hunt one by myself.
I wasn't in a hurry, though. We needed to clean the entrance first since there weren't just Orcs that threatened the village.
Even the wild boars were dangerous to the untrained villagers.
***
"Here is one! Let's attack together."
"Yes!"
Under the leadership of one of the stronger fighters, we, a group of villagers, took on an Orc.
When the villagers were in a group, a single Orc didn't pose any danger. Everyone, including me, attacked at once while the leader took the Orc's attention.
After three spears, two arrows, and my axe penetrated its hide, there was no way for the Orc to survive.
Just when we were getting ready to dismember the Orc's body, another sound came.
"RAAAARGH!"
"There is another Orc! Take position!" the leader from before shouted.
It is time.
"Ray, wait!" I shouted. Ray, the leader, and the others who were getting ready looked at me. "I will take it on," I said.
No one was surprised. I would be fifteen in a few hours, and fifteen meant adult in this world. So, even though most couldn't kill an orc alone at the age of fifteen without an Art, they knew I was getting ready for this.
Ray looked around. Seeing no one refuse, he looked back at me. "Go ahead. We are here. Let us know if you can't-"
"It is okay!" I interrupted him. It was rude, but I was excited. It was dangerous. Still... "I will handle it myself."
Ray shook his head, but I saw him smiling with the corner of his mouth.
The Orcs were slow, so even though we could see the newcomer for a while now, he wasn't among us yet.
I looked at my axe first. It was in an okay condition. It would be better if I sharpened it, but I forgot because of the excitement.
But I could do it. I approached the Orc slowly at first. But after getting closer, I started running.
He was holding a small tree trunk. Since he was only a bit bigger than two meters, he could only carry a small one.
He swung the tree trunk, but I jumped left, rolling on the ground. I thought I would end up behind him, but he was looking at me when I got up.
It will be harder than I thought...
I started dodging the trunk again and again instead of going for an attack. The others were watching me, but I didn't care about whether they would think I was cowardly or not.
This was life and death, and it seemed like I liked this thrill. Every time the trunk swung passed close to me, my heart jumped and I felt alive.
At last, I saw an opening. The Orc swung the tree trunk too early, and I had a chance. I also swung my axe to slice his side.
But the Orcs also had intelligence, though minimal. Instead of swinging the tree trunk again, he put the trunk down, closing the path of my axe.
My axe got stuck on the trunk.