Demon Lord's Reincarnation

John was a boy born in a remote region of the continent. Despite being the son of a farmer he was able to study in the local school while learning swordsmanship. 

Whenever his parents saw him being able to get an education they could not help but tear up a bit. Back in their generation people like them had no chance to ever go to school. This was why the people were truly grateful to Ren for giving them hope, for giving them a chance to choose what they want to be. 

To the normal people in the continent, Ren was a benevolent and wise ruler who had made many astonishing changes. He had brought them to an age they could never imagine before. It was an age filled with hope, dreams, and adventure. 

...

John was the best among the students in his little town, and even the sword instructor said that he was a genius that could match up to those monstrous genius found in the Capital. Seeing as no one aside from the sword instructor could fight him without losing in a single strike, John believed that he was someone special. 

Being praised a lot and not having any worthy opponent in the small town had inflated John's ego. He now believed that he had a chance to be able to fight the legendary emperor Ren. He was the same as every boy in his generation who loved to hear the stories of the legendary emperor and his companions. Every child of this era admired Ren and dreams of one day being able to go and have a great adventure like the emperor and his friends once had. 

'The legendary emperor and his friends all came from the same small village. I heard it was smaller than this town. Yet they had their grand adventure and had done many things, and in the end, they became the rulers of the land. If they can do it, why can't I?' 

John was getting excited as the time for the yearly tournament hosted by the emperor himself was about to be held. He could finally go out and prove himself to the world. Like the legendary emperor and his friends he too was about to embark on his own grand adventure. He alongside five more students from the region would head out tomorrow to the Capital, New Grenton. The six of them were the most outstanding students within the region and they were chosen as the representatives of the younger generation of their region to join the upcoming tournament. 

The unnamed tournament that the legendary emperor hosted every year was for any young prodigy that was below the age of twenty. All the young prodigies from all over the continent would gather in New Grenton to prove to the world that they were the best among their peers. The reward for winning aside from fame and honor was a prize of ten thousand white gold coins, and the privilege to face the undefeated emperor Ren in battle. 

The ten thousand white gold coins were enough for someone to live comfortably for three more generations. Yet despite that large prize money, the one prize that the prodigies truly cared about was the chance to fight the undefeated emperor, the legendary emperor Ren. 

...

John who was in the training grounds was swinging his sword already thinking of facing Ren in battle. He had never seen the legendary emperor, but the image in his mind was that of a tall muscular individual whose mere presence could frighten any monster. 

John continued to swing his sword with that image in his mind when he suddenly heard the voice of a girl calling his name. 

"Hey John, hey John!" 

John stopped swinging his sword and looked at the girl calling him. The girl had long black hair that reached her waist and had a face that one could call pretty cute. She was none other than John's childhood friend Alisa.

Unlike John who focused on the sword, she was from the mage's tower. She was considered above average compared to other students but unfortunately, she wasn't good enough to join this coming tournament, and the representative of the mage's tower was another girl from the nearby town. 

"What do you want, Alisa?" 

"Nothing much I just wanted to congratulate you for being able to go to New Grenton for the tournament," Alisa answered with a smile on her face. 

"... No need to show that fake smile of yours. I know that you want to scream and roll around in envy." Alisa sighed hearing what John said, she then shook her head while shrugging her shoulders. 

"Of course, I already did that yesterday... Hey John... After the tournament is over will you come back?" 

"What the heck are you saying, of course, I'll come back, this is my home after all. Why, don't you want me to come back?"

Alisa turned around not showing the expression on her face as she did not respond to John. After a few seconds of silence, she turned around and spoke with a bright smile on her face.   

"... How did you guess that? Of course, I don't want a musclebrain loudmouth like you to come back here... Hmmm, Well, I guess if you bring back some presents from the Capital, I will welcome you back." 

"Damn, what kind of a childhood friend are you?... Fine, I guess I can buy you a souvenir or two." 

"Why stop at two, how about buying me a dozen souvenirs seeing as it's not every day that you can go the Capital." 

"You really want to empty my pockets... Whatever, I guess it is just this one time." 

"That's the spirit." 

The two childhood friends then continued to talk with smiles on their faces. They didn't know what tomorrow might bring, but they felt excitement in their hearts. 

...

The following day, John and the five other prodigies of the region were at the train station with their families. John's parents were hugging him tightly. 

"Go and make us proud my boy." John's father spoke while trying to hold back his tears. 

"Be sure to eat well and sleep on time." John's mother spoke with teary eyes. The three of them continued to say their farewells when the train's whistle started blowing.

"All aboard!" The conductor announced to the people at the train station. 

The five prodigies all boarded the train, while John looked at the distance and saw that Alisa didn't come to see him off. He hesitantly boarded the train while waving goodbye to his parents. As the train started moving, John saw Alisa running towards the station. It was at that time the train was starting to speed up. 

"JOHN, CATCH!" Alisa whispered a few spell words and threw an object towards John. Seeing the approaching object coming at him at an unbelievable speed, John held onto the train and extended his right hand forward. He caught the object and saw that it was a talisman for good luck. Seeing John had caught her gift, Alisa continued running beside the train as she shouted at him. 

"YOU BETTER SHOW THOSE PEOPLE FROM THE CAPITAL WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF! IF YOU DON'T, I'LL BE TOO EMBARRASSED TO CALL YOU MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND!" 

John tightly clenched the talisman he received and responded to his childhood friend by showing her the secret signal that they created when they were younger. Seeing him do that secret signal she responded in kind. After a while, Alisa could no longer keep up with the train and John's view of her got smaller and smaller until she disappeared from his sight. 

"I promise I'll show everyone a performance you and my parents will be proud of," John mumbled under his breath as he continued to tighten his grip on the talisman.