The young man joined up with the army. He would have preferred to be a knight, of course, but he didn’t have the training or the money required for that. So he joined the army. There, he learned to use a sword. That was all, but that was enough to take up all of his time. Though, the other recruits didn’t spend as much time training as he did. He could always be found training. Well, almost always. He would still take time to socialize with the other recruits in the evening. However, then he would be found training late into the night, swinging his sword.
Many of the others had lost friends or family, so they understood his drive. They asked him who he had lost. His answer was simple. Nobody- yet. He was going to keep it that way. So he trained.
—–
Finally, the day of battle came. A recruit’s first battle was always the hardest. In this case, it was against demons. Though the humans outnumbered the demons ten-to-one, it was a hard battle. The demons had strong bodies, and magic. Ten men could usually defeat one demon, but that didn’t mean ten men could necessarily reach one demon to fight it. In these fights, formations were key. Each squad was to work together, switching out tired and wounded and wearing down a demon, before finally killing them. The young man’s squad engaged a demon wielding a large spear. The young man played his role as well as he could, swinging his sword. He did his best to protect his squad mates… but they all fell. One by one.
Just the young man and the demon were left. Then… just the young man was left. He spotted another squad who were engaged with two demons. That wouldn’t do. One squad, one demon. The young man moved to engage the demon. He swung his sword at it. That one made the mistake of ignoring a single soldier coming up behind it. The young man moved around the battlefield, assisting squads that were in trouble. He went up, and swung his sword. It was nothing special. It wasn’t an impressive style, yet it still cut through armor and sometimes demon flesh. Then, his sword broke. Fortunately, there were many strewn around the field. He picked up another, and continued. He continued until there were no more demons on the battlefield, at which point he collapsed to the ground, covered in wounds.
—–
The next morning, nobody could find him in the medical tent. He was gone. The nurses, knowing nothing about him, thought that he might have deserted. The officer who had been over his squad knew better. He went out to the training field to find the young man, swinging his sword.
The young man was recommended for a promotion. However, instead of becoming a squad leader, he was taken over to knight training. There, he learned how to properly fight in armor, to use a shield, spear, and other weapons, and to ride a horse. Though, the young man already knew how to ride a horse… or even a bull, if he wanted to.
The young man learned how to do everything required of a knight. He learned how to train his body to go beyond what normal people could achieve, far beyond. When he didn’t have anything else he needed to do, he would practice new skills. He would also continue to swing his sword.
—–
He found himself in another battle, this time as a knight. Although he had been involved in defeating demons before, this was the first time he defeated one in single combat. His armor was merely made out of strong, heavy metal. There were no magical enchantments on it, so when the young man was hit by a fireball, he was still scorched. The metal even became uncomfortably hot. Shorly after that, the demon’s head sailed through the air. The swing hadn’t looked like much, but it was fast and powerful.
The young man continued to battle, slaying many demons, both by himself and with the help of others. He couldn’t be stopped. Until, at the end of the battle, he once again collapsed from his wounds and exhaustion.
—–
Nobody was surprised that, when he came back to consciousness a week later, the first thing he did was get up to train his skills. He swung his sword, and practiced deflecting with his shield, and angling his armor for best effect. This pattern continued for a time. He would go out and fight, wherever there were demons to combat. He fought alongside knights, wizards, and even warriors from other countries. During the battles, he never stopped.
More people began to recognize the young man. He was no longer just some new recruit, or an aspiring knight. In fact, though he didn’t take up any position of leadership, many people looked up to him. He was a hero.