《Lights in the darkness》 Prologue - Prayer ¡°I guess that¡¯s it. My time to join you has finally come. Where will I go? Will it be heaven¡­ or hell? Will I see all of you again? Will we be able to laugh like we used to? There are so many questions I need answers to. Even though this life was never easy, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. I¡¯m so thankful to all of you¡­ my friends¡­ my family¡­ yes, even my enemies¡­ all of you were part of this story. Is there anything I would have done different? I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Closing my eyes, I prepared myself for death. A sad laugh escaped my lips. ¡°Wait, there is something. If only I could have saved her¡­ If only I could have seen that beautiful smile more often¡­ If only I had been stronger back then¡­ I¡¯ve never been worthy to call myself a king. A god. The strongest. All I¡¯ve been is a fool. This is the only regret that I carry within me. I know it¡¯s impossible to save everyone I¡¯ve lost.¡± I clenched my fist, even though I knew it was the truth. ¡°But¡­. if there¡¯s a single god left¡­ if you can hear me, please answer to my prayer. Give me a chance to right my wrongs. To change the past and save her. I don¡¯t care what it costs me. Take my soul, enslave me, torture me for eternity. No matter how painful. No matter how difficult this path gets. I¡¯m ready. I¡¯ll fight. Because I want all of them to be happy, and I want to see her smile again.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. A single tear rolled down my cheek as memories of our shared experiences flooded back. From the first time we met, to our last goodbyes. I could never forget these wonderful times. I couldn¡¯t think clearly, everything slowly seemed to fade away¡­ There¡¯s only one question left in my mind. ¡°Did my prayer reach you?¡± As I took my last breath, I looked up to the sky to see a shooting star fly through the night. I had to blink a few times as the bright light blinded me. It was so beautiful. It¡¯s like a god sent it to answer my prayer, to let me know that I¡¯m not alone in this cruel world. As I smiled, happy that my prayer was heard, a young Woman appeared next to me. She was clad in a silky robe that covered her whole body. I tried to move my head and look directly at her, but I couldn¡¯t. My heart was filled with hope. Was she the one that heard my prayer? Would she help me? I wanted to ask her so many things, but I was unable to open my mouth or even move a muscle. It¡¯s like the time was frozen. All I could do was listen to what she had to say to me. Her Voice was very soft and feminine as she spoke. ¡°Begging me to help you now that it¡¯s all over, huh? Humans really are disrespectful creatures. You better entertain me good, little human. My help is not something that¡¯s just granted to everybody, so make sure I don¡¯t regret wasting my time on you.¡± As the voice faded, darkness crept in from the corners of my vision, until it was all I could see. The last thing I saw was the woman laughing at my misery. Chapter 1 - Kuro Ryu and I have always been close friends. We met at the lowest points of our lives. I just lost my father, and he had lost both of his parents. That Incident¡­ The bandits attacking Greenwood¡­ No one talks about it anymore. It¡¯s like an unspoken law. So many lost their lives on that day, way too much to count. If the witch of the forest hadn¡¯t saved me, I wouldn¡¯t have survived either. All my life, I¡¯ve been saved by others again and again. I guess that¡¯s what it means to be a child. It¡¯d be my time to save others soon. But how was I supposed to save them? I guess there¡¯s still some time left for me to figure that out. The roof of my house was always the place where I would go when I wanted to be alone. I just sat down and looked at the sky, letting my mind wander. As I heard someone climb up the wooden ladder, I didn¡¯t turn around. Only few knew that this was my favorite place to hang out and relax my mind. ¡°Ahh, found you. Are you thinking about the future again?¡± I knew who was approaching; this energetic voice was unmistakably Ryu¡¯s. I would recognize it anytime. ¡°Yeah. I wonder when I will get my skill. Even my little sister has one already.¡± Ryu approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re not living in the future Kuro. You need to stop overthinking, or you¡¯ll end up like old Gil.¡± His voice sounded like he was joking, but I couldn¡¯t laugh. ¡°that¡¯s easy to say as someone who got his skill two years ago.¡± He frowned. ¡°I just want to make you feel better. It hurts seeing you like this. We had so much fun back then¡­¡± I found myself unable to respond. Thinking about the past hurt too much. ¡°You¡¯re not still sulking about being rescued by your sister, are you?¡± He laughed at me. My face turned red like a tomato, so I buried it in my knees. ¡°That¡¯s not it, shut up!¡± He sat down next to me. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m worried about the future as well. I just don¡¯t want to think about it. Back then, in that cave¡­ I thought we¡¯d die. I hated myself for convincing Shizuka to come with us. But when your sister saved us¡­ I realized that my worries were useless. That¡¯s why I stopped worrying about anything.¡± ¡°There won¡¯t always be someone to save us¡±, I replied to him. ¡°We will soon get strong enough. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get your skill faster than you think.¡± I frowned at his words. The first skill was usually acquired when a child reached puberty. I was 15 years old now, and despite hitting puberty at 12 years, I didn¡¯t get my skill. The first skill is the same for every person. It¡¯s the ¡°status¡± skill that allows someone to open their status window. In the status window, you could see all acquired skills and abilities of a person. That skill was necessary to become an adventurer. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± I answered him. We looked into the sky for a few minutes. I felt that something was on Ryu¡¯s mind when he turned to me. ¡°Do you think we will ever be as strong as your sister?¡± I stared blankly at the sky, unable to provide an answer to his question. As I finally answered, I made sure to pick the right words. ¡°We don¡¯t have much of a choice, do we? I aim to be the strongest mage in sural, and you the strongest swordsman. Layla has mastered both arts, so we¡¯ve got our work cut out for us.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Ryu raised his fist to the sky. ¡°I will get stronger. Not just that. I will make my dream come true and become the strongest swordsman!¡± That last claim came out a little louder than Ryu intended. ¡°Annoying Brats! Stop disturbing my sleep! Why can¡¯t you have some respect for the elders?¡± We looked over to the other houses to see the old Gil scream out of his window. ¡°Sorry Gil, I didn¡¯t mean to scream that loud!¡± As Ryu apologized to him, Gil muttered something into his beard and closed the window. We laughed. ¡°it¡¯s been a long time since we had so much fun.¡± As I said that, I tried focusing more on the present. Ryu was right. There was no use in worrying about everything all the time. Ryu got up and walked towards the ladder. ¡°I have to go now, there won¡¯t be any food left if I return as late as I did yesterday.¡± ¡°Yeah, you better go fast.¡± I replied to him. We said our goodbyes and he left me alone on the roof. After looking into the sky for a few more minutes, I got up and made my way towards the ladder. I climbed down and walked around the house, searching for my key. I opened the door and entered the house. The aroma of my mom¡¯s delicious vegetable stew filled my nose and my mouth started to water. I entered the kitchen and saw my mom stirring the stew in the pot. ¡°Hey Mom, I¡¯m home.¡± My mother turned around and welcomed me. ¡°Kuro, welcome back. You¡¯re late.¡± ¡°I know Mom, I¡¯m sorry. I was spending time with Ryu.¡± I replied to her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you invite him to have dinner with us?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were making your vegetable stew, I didn¡¯t want to poison him,¡± I mumbled. My mother threw the wooden spoon she used to stir the stew at me. I tried to dodge it, but it hit me right in the face. Ouch. ¡°Make yourself useful and bring some to your sister.¡±, my mother said as she gave me a bowl of stew. I took the bowl and brought it upstairs. I knocked on my sister¡¯s door and entered. ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± I asked her in a soft Voice. My little sister Anna was paralyzed. She suffered from an unknown illness and lost the feeling in her limbs one year ago. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling good.¡±, she replied to me. I approached her bed and put the bowl down on her nightstand. I sat down next to her and touched her forehead to feel her temperature. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°You have a high temperature, that¡¯s why you don¡¯t feel well.¡± I told her. I took the bowl in hand and used the spoon to feed her. ¡°Is it too hot? Should I wait a bit?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s perfect.¡± I could hear her stomach growling. I continued feeding her until the bowl was empty. ¡°Big brother, can I ask you something?¡±, she looked at me with big eyes as she asked that question. ¡°You can ask me anything.¡± ¡°When will I be able to walk again? I want to play with the other kids again.¡± As she asked me that, I couldn¡¯t help myself and tears started streaming down my face. I smiled at her and tried to answer as calm as possible. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish I could tell you. I promise to find a cure for your illness, Anna. Please hold on just a bit longer.¡± ¡°Am I a burden to you brother?¡± As she asked me that question I started crying like a baby. My heart felt like it imploded in my chest. ¡°No, of course not,¡± I managed to get out. I stroked her hair and she smiled at me. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, stroking her silky brown hair until she entered the world of dreams. I covered her slender body with the blanket and left her room. After I left her room, I walked down the stairs, sat down at the kitchen table and ate my portion of the vegetable stew. I finished my meal and went to bed. I was so tired that I didn¡¯t even wish my mother a good night. As I closed my eyes, I almost instantly fell asleep. I had a very strange dream. I found myself in a gigantic cave. I remembered this cave exactly. Ryu, Shizuka and I were kidnapped by goblins when we were playing in the forest a few years ago. They brought us into this cave and wanted to eat us, but my older sister Layla saved us. She followed our trails and killed all the goblins. In my dream there were no goblins. There was a huge lake in the center of the cave. I sat down and looked into the water. I could see my reflection perfectly. The mature features my face developed, my black hair and my blue eyes. My perfectly symmetrical nose and my mature chin. I stared into the water, captivated by my reflection. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen myself so clearly. As I studied my face in the water, I heard a voice behind me and turned my head. For a moment, I thought the woman in front of me was my older sister, Layla. She was around 160 centimeters tall, which was 10 centimeters taller than I was. She wore a black dress that covered her body almost completely. She wore her long white hair in a high ponytail with long side bangs. The most impressive aspects of her appearance were the black horns on her head and the black wings on her back. When I saw that, I realized that this wasn¡¯t my sister. She looked like one of the demons the old man Gil was always talking about. I tried to move a bit further away from her. I hoped that what old Gil told us about demons wasn¡¯t true. ¡°What are you doing here boy? I lost myself in her voice as she asked me that simple question and couldn¡¯t do anything but stare at her beautiful face. Her appearance and her voice left me speechless. She approached me and waved her hand in front of my face. ¡°Hello? Can you understand my language?¡± She was talking very slow, as if talking to a child. ¡°Y-yes, I can understand you.¡± I managed to stutter a short reply. ¡°Let me ask you again. What are you doing here boy?¡± ¡°I-I do-don¡¯t know¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t think clearly in her presence. It was not just her voice that was enchanting me. Her body, her face, her movements, her posture, everything about her captivated me. She sat down next to me and held her open palm over the water. Droplets of water flew through the air and formed a ball of water in her open palm. She played with the water in her hand and let it fall back into the lake. ¡°I was sure that I wouldn¡¯t get the chance to talk to someone ever again.¡± She looked up to the ceiling of the cave with a sad expression on her face as she said that. There was a huge glowing crystal where she looked at. It seemed that this crystal was the light source of the whole cave. ¡°How long have you been here?¡± I finally managed to get something out. ¡°Here? This is my first time. I¡¯ve never been here before.¡± Her answer left me speechless again, I didn¡¯t know what I should say next. There was something that I wanted to know about her though. ¡°Are you¡­ a demon?¡± It kind of felt like a taboo question. I looked at her face as I waited for an answer. She threw her head back and laughed. ¡°What, have you never seen one before?¡± She looked at me with a smirk on her face, as if I was a little stupid. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± She had a puzzled look on her face as she heard my answer. Her face turned red, and she looked away shyly, as if she just had an embarrassing thought. ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± She kept looking away even as she was waiting for my answer. I thought about my answer for a short time. Then I replied. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. You don¡¯t seem like a bad person to me.¡± I winced as she suddenly took my hand and turned her head to me. She showed me the warmest and most genuine smile I had ever seen. ¡°Will you be my friend then?¡± That simple question caught me off guard. Could I be friends with a demon, even if she didn¡¯t seem like a bad person? I looked deep into her purple eyes as I tried to find the right words. She just looked at me and held my hand as she waited for an answer. I smiled back at her when I finally answered. ¡°Sure.¡± That single word ignited a bright fire in her eyes. I could swear they shined brighter than the glowing crystal for a moment. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be good friends.¡± As she showed me that captivating smile again, I felt something tug at my consciousness. I heard someone call my name and looked around. As my mother pulled me out of the bed and I hit my head on the floor, I finally woke up. I looked around the room, still groggy from my dream. I could still see the woman¡¯s smile. I shook my head and gathered my thoughts. It was just a dream, no reason to get all worked up. I followed my mom downstairs after changing my clothes and ate breakfast with her. She baked fresh bread and brought fruits from the fields. We ate our breakfast in silence, my head was still foggy from the dream I just had. I left the table as my mother went upstairs to feed Anna. I wonder if it was normal for a boy my age to dream about beautiful women. I left the house and started to walk the stony path to the town¡¯s church, forgetting about the dream and focusing on what we had planned for today. It¡¯s been a few days since I¡¯ve seen Shizuka for the last time. Maybe she¡¯s had a new prophecy that she can tell us about. It bugged me a bit, that she already had two skills while I didn¡¯t even have my first. The world sure is cruel sometimes. As I walked past the marketplace, I noticed that the travelling merchants were back in town. I didn¡¯t have any money on me right now, so I¡¯d just have to come back later. As I finally reached the church, I spotted Ryu and Shizuka sitting on a bench next to the church¡¯s door, waiting for me. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m late, sorry about that.¡± I apologized to them and hoped they didn¡¯t have to wait long. Shizuka looked up and fixed her hair behind her pointy ears. ¡°We didn¡¯t wait long, don¡¯t worry.¡± She got up and fixed her dress. Ryu got up as well and gave me a fist bump. ¡°Have you thought about what I said to you yesterday?¡± I didn¡¯t know whether he was trying to tease me, or if it was a serious question. I decided to answer it anyway. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I really should stop worrying so much. I don¡¯t want to end up like Gil after all.¡± Shizuka had a puzzled expression on her face. ¡°What do you mean? What does Gil have to do with it?¡± As I was searching for the right words to explain it, Ryu answered for me. ¡°It¡¯s a joke between Kuro and me, you wouldn¡¯t get it.¡± Shizuka crossed her arms with a salty look on her face. It was obvious she hated being left out. ¡°Whatever, I didn¡¯t want to know about it anyway.¡± Ryu and I laughed again. We decided to tell Shizuka what the joke was about so she would stop being mad at us. After explaining it to her, we made our way to the library to check out the new books the travelling merchants brought. We¡¯ve got a lot to catch up on and had a lot of fun on our way to the library. I wished every day could be as fun as today. As we entered the building, we agreed on a table to meet at, once we found a few interesting books. I walked around and looked for interesting books among the shelves. I felt drawn to a small book in a violet cover. I reached up, took it out of the shelf and looked at it. There was nothing on the cover, not even the name of the book or the name of the author. I opened the first page to see what the book was about. It was written in a mysterious language that I have never seen before. I wanted to put it back, but something told me that I should take it with me. I checked if someone was looking at me, then put it in a pocket on the inside of my coat. I found some adventure guides, grimoires and books about skills and abilities. I took the books to our table, where Ryu was already waiting. He had only two books, an adventure guide and a book about the importance of skills for swordsmen. I sat down next to him. As Shizuka finally came back, she brought almost ten books with her. She was sitting on the other side of the table so I couldn¡¯t see what her books were about. She took her reading glasses out and immediately started reading. I always thought it was funny that a half-elf needed glasses to read. Her ancestors were hunting in the forest, killing animals with bows over tremendous ranges. Good eyes basically had to be in her DNA. And still she was sitting there, needing glasses to read. I looked to the side and saw that Ryu has started reading his books as well. I opened the first book, ¡°how to become a great adventurer, Volume 1¡±. Even though I didn¡¯t believe that there¡¯s a shortcut to becoming a great adventurer, I still gave the book a try. Chapter 2 – Shizuka I loved coming to the library to read, whether it was with my friends or alone. It was my way of forgetting my problems, even if only for a short time. Now that I was here with my friends, it was even easier for me to relax and focus on all the stories this place had to tell. When I arrived at our table, I saw that Kuro and Ryu were already there. I sat down at the other end of the table and placed the books I brought next to me. Without wasting any time, I searched my purse for my reading glasses and put them on. The books I picked up covered a variety of different topics. The first one, ¡°The journey of a lonely mage¡±, was very thin so I decided to start with that. Every child in the Sural kingdom knew this novel. It tells the story of one of Sural¡¯s greatest heroes. His reputation as the most formidable mage in history wasn''t confined to the boundaries of the Sural kingdom. It echoed through the elven woods, resonated within the dwarven mines, reverberated across the dragon mountains, and even permeated the formidable walls of the demon empire. After his story was passed down hundreds of times, from generation to generation, details of his story and even his name got lost. Kuro was a huge fan of this novel, he even started to wear a gray robe like the lonely mage and learn about magic from the witch of the forest. I was sure that this novel was also one of his inspirations to become the strongest mage. When we were younger, I thought Kuro¡¯s goal to become the strongest mage and Ryu¡¯s goal to become the strongest swordsman were childish. Nowadays, I was a little jealous of them. They had a goal that they wanted to accomplish. I was almost fifteen years old now, yet I didn¡¯t know what I wanted to do with my life. ¡°Maybe I can just join them on their adventures¡±. My friends looked at me and I realized that I accidentally said that out loud. ¡°Forget about it, it¡¯s nothing!¡± My face turned red, and I hid it behind the book. Even though I was embarrassed to admit it, going on an adventure with them sounded very nice. I put ¡°the journey of a lonely mage¡± away and took the book ¡°An introduction to the world of skills and abilities for beginners¡± in my hand. I opened the book and noticed that it looked very new. It seems like this book just released recently. Even though I already acquired two skills, I had no idea how skills even worked. The book started with a short description. It was easy to understand, as expected from a book for beginners. There seemed to be three different kinds of skills. Skills that were always active, skills that activated on their own, and skills that activated when a certain ability was used. I used the ability [show status] to open my status window. I didn¡¯t understand any of the information it contained except for the list of skills and the list of abilities. There were only two entries in my skill list. I checked the description of my first skill, [status]. [Status] This skill provides useful information about the user. All of their skills, abilities and stats are listed in the status screen. To open the status screen, use the skill [show status]. To close it, use [hide status]. This skill also provides the user with a notification whenever a new skill or ability has been unlocked. This skill unlocks the abilities [show status] and [hide status] Requirements to unlock this skill: Unknown After I finished reading the description of the status skill, I opened the description of my second skill, [foresight]. [foresight] This skill allows its user to see into the future. Rank: F Requirements to unlock this skill: Unknown It seems like the amount of information the descriptions contain vary from skill to skill. I didn¡¯t know what ¡°Rank: F¡± meant, so I closed my status window and looked it up in the book. It took me a while, but I eventually found a chapter that explained the ranks of skills. Ranks: Every skill, except for [status], has a rank. The ranks go from F- up to EX+. The better the rank of a skill is, the better the skill itself becomes. While a higher rank doesn¡¯t change the nature of a skill, it can enhance it and sometimes even unlock a better version of the skill. The ranks upgrade based on various conditions that differ from skill to skill. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As I flipped to the next page, I saw that a few pages were missing. Someone ripped all of the pages about skill ranks out of the book. The description was all that was left. I couldn¡¯t change it, so I opened the next chapter. It seemed to be about something called cursed skills and abilities. I¡¯ve never heard of something like that. There was a short description at the beginning of the chapter. Cursed skills / Cursed abilities: While they bestow a tremendous power to their user, Cursed skills and abilities always come with a price to pay. They are usually unlocked by striking a deal with a demon or devil. In some rare cases, they can be inherited. Cursed skills and abilities don¡¯t show up in the regular skills and abilities lists. In the Sural kingdom, the use of cursed skills and abilities is prohibited under any circumstances and punished with death. I quickly closed the book. I shouldn¡¯t have read further. These cursed skills sounded scary. And what does ¡°they come with a price to pay¡± even mean? I was glad that I didn¡¯t read this book at night. These kinds of abilities had to be very cruel and horrifying. I looked out of the window and tried to get it out of my mind. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to read another book, so I just tried to enjoy the view. Next to the library was a huge flower field, where I always played with my friends when we were children. The weather was nice today. There were few clouds, and the sun was shining down from the blue sky. The flowers didn¡¯t bloom yet, so there weren¡¯t as many colors as in the summer. Next to the flower field was our main road to the capital. Every year, when the travelling merchants come, the roads get cleaned and prepared for their arrival. It was a huge event for the citizens of Greenwood. As my gaze followed the main road towards the capital, I saw an army of soldiers on their way towards the village. There were around a hundred thousand of them, and they were fully armed. What¡¯s going on? What do they want in Greenwood? I turned around as someone grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Hey Shizuka, are you alright? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost.¡± Kuro looked at me with a worried expression on his face. I didn¡¯t even notice when he got up and walked around the table. As I looked out again, everything was peaceful. The soldiers were gone. All I could see were the grasslands that surrounded the village. But they were definitely there. I didn¡¯t imagine them. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I guess I was just daydreaming¡±. I couldn¡¯t tell him what I¡¯ve seen. He¡¯d think I was crazy. I needed some time for myself to sort my thoughts. ¡°Guys, I¡¯m not feeling so well. I guess I¡¯ll have to go home and rest a little bit. We¡¯ll see each other at the party tonight¡±. I picked up the books and brought them back to the shelves. Then I said goodbye to my friends and quickly left the library. I was feeling very hot and cold sweat ran down my back. The gentle breeze and fresh air of the approaching summer made me feel a little better. My house was located in the center of Greenwood, so I had a long way to go. My mind was racing, I still had the image of the invading army burned into my eyes. When I finally arrived at my door, I couldn¡¯t even remember how I got there. It was like the last 20 minutes were erased from my memory. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and noticed, that I still wore my reading glasses. I took them off and put them back in my purse. When I grabbed the key to my house, my hands were shaking, and I needed a few attempts to get the key into the keyhole. I suddenly felt very sick and thought I was going to vomit. I opened the door and dragged myself inside. All energy seemed to have left my body. I never felt this bad in my entire life. I managed to close the door behind me and put the key back into my purse. I entered the bathroom and washed my face with cold water. My face was so hot, it felt like it was burning. I dried my hands and left the bathroom. On the way to my bedroom, my legs gave out and I fell to the floor. My body was wet with sweat, and it started to penetrate my clothes. I tried to look around, but everything was spinning around me. I crawled back to the bathroom and vomited into the pot that we used as our toilet. I didn¡¯t have enough energy to leave the bathroom and crawl back to my room. I laid on the floor, wet and shivering from the cold. The light that shined through the windows seemed too bright. My head was dizzy, and I couldn¡¯t see clearly. I closed my eyes and tried to stop myself from vomiting again. When I opened them, all light was gone. Everything around me was pitch black. That was the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I wasn¡¯t laying on the bathroom floor anymore. Someone brought me to my room and put me to bed. I tried to sit up slowly and it worked without any problems. My clothes should have sticked to my body due to the sweat, but they didn¡¯t. Whoever brought me to bed must have also washed me and changed my clothes. I looked out of the window to try to find out how much time has passed. It looked like it was still the same day, but the sun was already setting. I got out of the bed and saw a note on my nightstand. It seemed to be from my mother. ¡°Dear Shizuka, I hope you¡¯re feeling better. Don¡¯t make me worry like this ever again! You almost gave me a heart attack when I saw you on the bathroom floor! If you still plan on going to the party at Kuro¡¯s place later, please take it easy. I love you. Mom¡± I smiled as I read the note. It¡¯s already late, but I could still make it to the party before it starts. I changed my clothes into something more comfortable and got ready to go out. Just as I was about to leave the house, I remembered to leave a note for my mother. I left a note on the table, explaining that I was better now and that I¡¯d attend Kuro¡¯s party. I made sure to lock the door behind me and started to make my way to Kuro¡¯s house.. There was nothing left of the sickness that I had felt in the morning. I was full of energy and extremely excited to finally see Layla again. As I walked down the familiar path to Kuro¡¯s house, I watched the sunset turn into a starry sky, hoping that I would arrive on time. Chapter 3 – Ryu After Shizuka left us alone at the library, we put our books back into the shelves and left as well. I couldn¡¯t imagine why she would just leave us like that, I guess she really must have been feeling very sick. It''s been a long time since we''ve all been together like this, so we planned to enjoy the day and have fun. It didn¡¯t seem like her to just leave. I hoped that she would feel better in the evening so she could attend Kuro¡¯s party that was planned for tonight. Today, Layla would come back to the village after completing a mission from the adventurer¡¯s guild that lasted for almost five years. I couldn¡¯t wait to hear everything about it. Because it was such a big event, many people were invited to celebrate Layla¡¯s return to Greenwood. She held the position of the third strongest adventurer in the rankings, so she didn¡¯t have the time to visit her family often. Kuro jumped around like a little kid when the message of her return reached him. That was a side of Kuro that I couldn¡¯t see often. Ever since I have known him, his personality was very serious, and he was overthinking things often. His mother told me that he became like that after his father¡¯s death, and that he was a very happy and carefree child. I looked at him as we walked down the road side by side. We were both lost in our thoughts, so we didn¡¯t talk much. We were on our way to the church, where I lived. I lost my parents when a group of bandits attacked Greenwood almost ten years ago. Since that fateful day, I¡¯ve been living in the church with a few other orphans. It was like a big family. The nuns that cared for me were like my parents and the other kids were like siblings to me. I met Kuro for the first time when he accompanied his mother to the church. I thought he was a little weird at first, but after we met a few times, I came to like him a lot. We eventually became friends, and I started visiting his home often. His mother Lisbeth and his little sister Anna welcomed me warmly and I immediately felt at home. When I visited him for his eighth birthday, I met Shizuka for the first time. She has always been a quiet girl, and it was hard for me to get close to her at first. Because she was very shy, it took a long time for her to open up to me. She was often bullied because she was a half-elf, so she didn¡¯t trust people she didn¡¯t know well. When I finally earned her trust, Kuro, Shizuka, and I started playing together every day and formed a strong bond with each other. We had become inseparable friends by now and would do everything together. Since Kuro and I have been very busy lately, we rarely had time to meet and do something fun. Kuro and I would become adventurers soon, so we had a lot to plan and prepare. I was kind of sad when I thought about leaving the village, my friends, and Shizuka behind when we¡¯d leave for the kingdom¡¯s capital. I still hoped that Shizuka would decide to join us on our journey, but I didn¡¯t want to pressure her on that matter. When we finally reached the church, Kuro nudged me with his elbow. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t notice that we arrived. We entered the huge building and got our wooden swords that we used for training. The nuns of the church were kind enough to let us store our training equipment there. Sometimes, when the nuns were out running errands, we used the church for our training. It was the perfect place to practice. The huge Hall offered much space and even if you made a few mistakes, you couldn¡¯t get cornered easily. If they found out that we used the place for training, they¡¯d be furious. I read many books about swordsmanship and made some of the guards and hunters of the village show me some tricks. That wasn¡¯t comparable to real training, so I made Kuro help me with that. That way, both of us got fighting experience, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt Kuro to know something about close combat, even when he became a mage. Ever since I saw Kuro¡¯s sister Layla in action, I wanted to become as strong as her. No, even stronger. I wanted to become the strongest swordsman in the entire world. I trained every day to steel my body and get ready to finally become an adventurer of whom my parents would be proud of. Today was the day that I would finally challenge Layla to a duel. I trained for many years, and when Kuro received the message about the return of his older sister, I knew that my time has come. We left the church and brought the wooden swords to Kuro¡¯s house. I planned to challenge Layla after she told us about the adventurer¡¯s guild quest. When we entered the house with the swords, Kuro¡¯s mother shot us a disapproving glance. She hated weapons. She was very against Kuro becoming an adventurer and had tried to talk Layla out of it many times as well. She was like this ever since I have met her, so I was already used to it. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the best idea bringing the swords inside. ¡°Mrs. Moonshade, where should I put the swords? I don¡¯t want you to feel bothered by them.¡± Even though she offered me to call her Lisbeth, or by her nickname Lizzie many times, I stuck with calling her by her family name. She was the mother of my best friend after all, so it was important to be respectful at all times. Her face softened slightly when she answered me. She was a very simple woman. You could basically get away with anything as long as you either apologized or asked nicely. ¡°You can put them next to the door, I¡¯ll make an exception for today.¡± ¡°Thank you, I appreciate that.¡± I bowed slightly and put the swords down next to the door like she told me. ¡°She really seems to like you. I don¡¯t think any person other than you and Layla were ever allowed to bring a weapon into this house.¡± As Kuro said that to me, I felt a gentle warmth in my body. It¡¯s nice to see when honesty and respect paid off. ¡°Yeah, she treats me like I¡¯m her own son sometimes.¡± Even for me it felt like I was a part of this family. I came over and brought gifts for everyone¡¯s birthday and got gifts myself. We celebrated the new year, the national founding day of the kingdom, and even summer¡¯s eve at the end of spring together. I was also invited for dinner almost every day, even though I had to decline that offer most of the time to avoid food poisoning. As great of a mother as Kuro¡¯s mother was, she couldn¡¯t cook. Her vegetable stew was the only dish that tasted good, not that I would ever say that to her face. Just as Kuro and I were walking up the stairs to the second floor where Kuro¡¯s room was, his mother came after us. ¡°Would you be so kind to stay and help me with the cleaning after the party?¡± She didn¡¯t even have to ask me. Of course I¡¯d help out. ¡°Sure, no problem. I¡¯m always happy to help.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, it¡¯s always nice to have an additional pair of hands around to help.¡± She smiled at me, bowed slightly and left us alone to continue with the preparations. We walked up the stairs, entered Kuro¡¯s room, and I closed the door behind us. ¡°Kuro, we need to talk.¡± At first, I wasn¡¯t sure if we were thinking the same thing, but when Kuro turned around and looked at me with a worried expression on his face, I knew that we were on the same wavelength. ¡°Yeah, Shizuka¡¯s been very weird. I¡¯ve never seen her like that. The way she suddenly left almost seemed like she was hiding something. Do you think she¡¯s troubled by anything?¡± I was a little happy when Kuro spoke my thoughts out loud. It felt like there was a real connection between us. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything that would trouble her that she wouldn¡¯t tell us about. We still have some time until Layla arrives and the party starts, we could visit her at home and ask her if anything¡¯s wrong.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I didn¡¯t want to miss the beginning of the party, but I really wanted to know what was up with her. ¡°We can make it in time if we hurry, but we have to be quick.¡± So, we decided to pay her a visit at home and ask her in private if anything was wrong. As we wanted to leave Kuro¡¯s house though, his mother called out to us. ¡°Kiyara hasn¡¯t replied to my invitation yet, could you go to her shack and invite her directly?¡± This destroyed our plan completely, as we couldn¡¯t just refuse her request. I turned my head to Kuro, my eyes begging him for a solution. ¡°We should split up. You visit Shizuka, I talk to Kiyara.¡± I was glad for his offer, because it meant that I wouldn¡¯t have to visit Kiyara¡¯s shack. Kiyara was a witch living in the forest next to the village. She didn¡¯t have any friends except for Kuro and his mother Lisbeth, which was due to her gloomy personality and her shut-in lifestyle. I agreed and we split up in opposite directions. It was already dark outside, so we had no time to waste. Layla and the guests would arrive soon. I turned around one last time to see Kuro walking away in the distance. I braced myself against the cold and started running to Shizuka¡¯s house. Her house was in the center of Greenwood, while Kuro¡¯s house was at the edge of the village. After running for what felt like an eternity, I stopped to catch a breath and leaned against a nearby wall. If the streets weren¡¯t illuminated by glowing mana stones, I would be shitting my pants running around here in the dark. Just as that thought crossed my mind, I noticed a brighter light than that of the mana stones coming from an alley next to me. I cautiously looked into the alley and spotted the source of the light. It was a flame burning in the hand of a tall, middle-aged man. A mage. Next to his feet lay the body of a young girl. I couldn¡¯t see her face, but her reddish-brown hair and the pointy ears were enough for me to identify her. ¡°What are you doing to her?!? Leave her alone!¡± I screamed as loud as I could, ran towards the man and pushed him away from Shizuka. He stumbled over his feet and I took the opportunity to get between him and Shizuka¡¯s lifeless body. She was wearing a pretty dress, it looked like she was on the way to the party when the man attacked her. I took a closer look at the man. He was very tall, but his body was built like a stick. He looked like someone who hasn¡¯t eaten anything for a few days. I should be able to beat him in a fight if I didn¡¯t get hit by his magic. The man started approaching me, but his movements were stiff and sluggish, like that of a puppet. His face looked fake as well, his neutral expression hasn¡¯t changed once since I have seen him. ¡°Get out of the way, kid. Give me the girl and I¡¯ll be gone.¡± His voice was hoarse and gave me goosebumps. It sounded like the voice that would come out of a corpse if it could talk. I tried to calm down a bit and sort my thoughts before I replied to him. My knees were shaking in fear, and cold sweat ran down my back. There was no way I¡¯d give in and let the man take her with him though. Kuro, Shizuka and I had made a promise when we became friends. We would always be there for each other and protect us, even if it cost our lives. ¡°No! If you want her, you have to kill me first!¡± One of the guards once told me that a surprise attack can turn a battle in your favor, so I ran at him before he even had the chance to reply. I smashed my fist into his face as hard as I could and sent him flying. I was a fifteen-year-old boy, and he looked like he was in his forties. There was no way I could just sent him flying with a punch. And yet, there he was, on the ground a few meters away from me. I looked at my hand. I was strong, I knew that. I had trained my body every day for the past four years. But still, sending a grown man flying seemed a bit much. As the man got up from the ground, I noticed his robotic movements again. It looked like he really was a puppet, the toy of a mage. If that was the case, there was no chance that I could win against him. As long as he was supplied with mana and his body was intact, he could keep fighting and would get up from the ground again and again, no matter what I did to him. Even though I knew that fighting him was pointless, I couldn¡¯t give up. I didn¡¯t have a chance, but the girl behind me had even less of a chance. I needed to figure out how we could escape. If only she was awake, this would¡¯ve been way easier. The puppet approached me again, and I had no clue how I could escape with Shizuka. Great. It threw a blade at me, and aimed directly at my face. There was no way I could dodge that. ¡°Sorry Kuro, sorry Shizuka. I won¡¯t make it.¡± Fear and sadness took ahold of me. We had so many plans, and now it¡¯s just gonna end here? In a dark alley in Greenwood? My eyes got wet from the thought that it was over now. The blade was approaching me at a rapid speed. I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m gonna die. It¡¯s over. It¡¯s¡­.. There was a loud ringing sound in my head. BEEP. BEEEP. BEEP. Conditions met. Skill: Perception (F) has been unlocked and added to the skill list. A new skill? Just as I was about to die? How unlucky, if only I had gotten that skill earlier. Suddenly, when the blade was only one or two meters away from my face, it slowed down. But it wasn¡¯t just the blade. Everything around me got slower. Like time itself was slowed down. I took the time to take a look at the blade. It was made from ice, so it seemed to be a product of magic. The perfect killing tool. No need to clean up afterwards, the weapon would just disappear when the sun came up. I tried to grab the blade with my hand. To my confusion, it worked. I grabbed the blade midair, just as it was about to pierce my face. I threw it back at the man, and it pierced his right leg. He was just about to throw another blade, thinking that it was a fluke, but I wasn¡¯t going to let him try again. I ran at him and kicked his hand away, sending his freshly created blade flying into the air. Just as I thought that I caught him off-guard, that fake face smiled at me. He opened his mouth, and I could see that he didn¡¯t have a tongue or teeth. The inside of his mouth was made from a leathery material, and was bound with hundreds of stitches. When he spoke, his hoarse voice came out again. ¡°Burst.¡± It was just one word. One single word. But when the Icy blade that was thrown into the air when I attacked him started to glow as it came down, Goosebumps formed on my back. The blade exploded with a force that was strong enough to send me flying back into the alley. I searched my body for any wounds, but beside some scratches, I seemed to be fine. I needed to get up, it wasn¡¯t over yet. I used the wall next to me for support and got up to my feet. Just as I got ready to jump at him again, the man raised his hand and directed his open palm at me. ¡°Stop bothering me you annoying brat! Fire, burn away those who stand in my way! Bring forth agony over my enemies and let them feel the pain of hell itself! Grand fireball!¡± This was bad. Grand fireball was an intermediate level spell with considerable destructive power. There was no way I could dodge it in a small alley like this. And even if I could, the unconscious Shizuka couldn¡¯t. What a shame, to think that my dream was over even before I became an adventurer I had already gotten a second chance during the fight; there was no chance something like that was going to happen again. Maybe, if I shielded her with my body, Shizuka could survive. But even if she did, that puppet would take her with it or kill her. I closed my eyes and prepared to be burned to ashes. I waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes again and saw that the man¡¯s palm wasn¡¯t directed at me anymore. The man directed his palm into the sky, and next to him was an old little man who seemed to have slapped away the puppet¡¯s palm with the stick he used as a walking aid. The light of the puppet¡¯s grand fireball let me see exactly who it was. ¡°Gil! What are you doing here? Get away fast, this guy is dangerous!¡± I couldn¡¯t understand what that old geezer was thinking. Why did he come here? ¡°This isn¡¯t my first rodeo kid. Sit back and watch a real fight.¡± His voice sounded very confident. I wanted to believe him, and let him handle it. Just do what he said, sit back and watch them. But I couldn¡¯t. Gil might have been an adventurer when he was young, but now he¡¯s nothing more than an old geezer. ¡°Gil! Get away! He¡¯s a puppet! You can¡¯t win against him!¡± My voice was full of panic and I had multiple voice cracks. Didn¡¯t he understand that this guy was too much for him and me? This guy was a puppet, a magic tool, made to serve and destroy. An old geezer was no match for something like that. ¡°Just sit back and watch. You young lads should really learn not to judge a book by its cover.¡± With those words he swung his stick at the puppet, which dodged it with its robotic movements. When the puppet tried to counterattack with a swing of its fist to Gils face, Gil grabbed the puppet¡¯s hand and ripped off its arm. My jaw dropped at this sight. That frail old man, that always told us stories and fairy tales when we were younger, just ripped off a puppet¡¯s arm. Good puppets were usually made from high quality components. Ripping off a puppet¡¯s arm wasn¡¯t an easy feat by any means. The power that Gil displayed was comparable to crushing iron with his bare hand. He was absolutely incredible. Gil smacked the severed arm against the puppets face and sent it flying. When it crashed into the ground, Gil raised his hand and prepared a magic spell. Unlike the puppet, he didn¡¯t use an incantation for his spell. From incantations, to runes, to formless casting, there were thousands of ways to use magic and cast spells. Gils spell was shining in a beautiful green light that hurt my eyes when I looked at it. When he released it, my eyes were blinded for a moment, and when I could see again, everything that was left of the puppet was the severed arm on the ground. Gil picked up the arm and turned to leave. ¡°Ryu, you should take Shizuka and get away fast. I don¡¯t know how much more of them there are, and I won¡¯t be able to take down another one. Unfortunately, the pain in my back has been killing me today.¡± He walked towards his house and giggled into his beard until I couldn¡¯t hear him anymore. I sat around for a few minutes, trying to process the shock. Then I tried to wake up Shizuka, but it didn¡¯t work. I threw my Jacket over Shizuka, trying to shield her from the cold. I gathered all my strength, picked her up, and started making my way to Kuro¡¯s house. Chapter 4 - Trapped The strong wind made my whole body shiver. I was glad that I had my coat to protect me from the cold, even if it wasn¡¯t quite enough. The small pathway that led into the forest was dark, but I never had any problems finding my way without the light. My eyes adapted to the darkness very quickly, so I didn¡¯t need to bring a lantern when visiting Kiyara in the evening. The way to her shack was very familiar to me, after all. Until just a few months ago, I visited her once or twice every week. Despite her introverted nature, she became very talkative when talking about magic. She told me everything she knew about mana and spells, the connection between magic and skills, and even let me help her with her research. I had spent much time with her and knew her better than anybody else. Because I knew her so well, I wasn¡¯t surprised that she didn¡¯t reply to the party invitation. She was very forgetful and tended to procrastinate a lot. My hands started to hurt from the cold, so I hurried up and walked a bit faster. The air was filled with the sound of fallen branches cracking beneath my feet. The street has long ended and was replaced by a narrow trail. The soil beneath me was moist, and I could feel the water penetrate my shoes and socks. After a twenty minute walk that felt like an eternity, I arrived at Kiyara¡¯s shack. I could see light through her windows, so I took a look inside. I couldn¡¯t see her, so I approached the door and knocked. No answer. I knocked again, louder this time. Again, no answer. Maybe she fell asleep over her research. I knew how deep her sleep was, so I didn¡¯t even bother trying to wake her up. I really looked forward to seeing her, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Just as I turned around and was about to leave, she called after me. ¡°Kuro! Wait for me, I¡¯m getting dressed! I just need a few minutes!¡± The sudden and unexpected voice from behind startled me and I jumped and turned around. I could see her head peeking out of the window. ¡°Hurry up! I¡¯m freezing out here!¡± She threw me a thumbs-up and disappeared from the window. I returned to her door and sat down on the stairs in front of it. That was a mistake and I should have known it. They were cold and wet. As cold and wet as my pants and my butt after I sat down. A great day. The sound of cracking branches caught my attention, and I tried to search for the source with my eyes. Then I saw them. The two yellow gems that were looking at me. I had never seen such yellow eyes. They seemed to gaze directly into my soul. I averted my gaze and turned around when I heard Kiyara open the door. She was very tall for a woman, standing at almost 180 centimeters. Her long, blonde hair was falling over her shoulders and contrasted perfectly to her light blue dress. A stylish purse, fancy shoes and her witch hat completed her outfit. I looked back to the spot where I¡¯d seen the eyes, but they were gone. ¡°Do I look presentable for a party?¡± Kiyara asked me with a shy expression on her face, like she was really concerned about her looks. She¡¯d always been a self-conscious one. ¡°You¡­ You look amazing Kiyara!¡± That was all I was able to get out. Her outfit and make-up were perfect. I never noticed how attractive she was, because she never really bothered to apply make-up or cared about her looks in any other way. If I was into older women, I think I might have fallen for her. She chuckled a bit when she heard the nervousness in my voice. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, I¡¯ve made the others wait long enough. I really need more experience regarding fashion. It took me almost an hour to put these shoes on!¡± I got up from the stairs and helped her down like a gentleman, which got rewarded with a shy smile. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t want them to have all the fun without us. Maybe Shizuka¡¯s mom can give you some advice for the next time.¡± We started to make our way to my house. I wanted to get home and see my elder sister as soon as possible. I tried to walk where the forest floor wasn¡¯t as moist, to protect my feet from getting any wetter, and Kiyara¡¯s shoes from getting dirty. When I looked back though, I saw that she didn¡¯t have any problems with the wet ground beneath her feet. Steam rose up from where her feet touched the wet soil. That was a smart way to use magic. I was honestly impressed. From what she told me, manipulating your surroundings in such a subtle way was very hard and needed a lot of practice. It seemed that she used her magic in multiple ways at the same time. Her dress wasn¡¯t swaying in the wind and the cold didn¡¯t seem to faze her at all. Her shoes neither got dirty nor wet. She was amazing. To use multiple spells at the same time without any problems was an impressive feat showing her masterful control over the elements. What she displayed with such ease was a level of magic control that needed many years of training. I was a little jealous, because I couldn¡¯t use any magic at all. I knew everything about it in theory, but couldn¡¯t use it myself. The reason for that was, that my mana core hasn¡¯t activated yet. Once a living being¡¯s mana core activates, its body starts gathering mana from its surroundings. The presence of mana in a body is what activates the first skill, ¡°Status¡±. After the ¡°Status¡± skill has been unlocked, the mana can be converted into other forms of energy, known as magic. I had no explanation for my mana core not activating. It was really frustrating to see all of the teenagers in the village get their skills one after another and being the only one left out. Even my little sister¡¯s mana core had activated already. I could ask Kiyara for help. We were alone, no one would laugh at me. I could tell her how I felt, what it was doing to me. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. No, I couldn¡¯t. She¡¯d think I was childish. That¡¯s something I needed to figure out myself. We were walking in silence for almost fifteen minutes. I didn¡¯t know how to break the silence between us and was very glad when she did. ¡°Kuro, tell me, how do you really feel about your sister¡¯s return?¡± Her question came out of the blue, and I didn¡¯t have an answer for it. I was happy to see her again, of course. But I also felt resentment towards her for being away for so long. Especially when her family needed her the most. My mother and I were taking care of my sick sister all by ourselves. If Layla had been there, everything would have been so much easier. ¡°I don¡¯t know. On one hand I¡¯m very happy to see her again, hear her stories and share my own with her. On the other hand, it¡¯s just a matter of time until we¡¯re separated again. I¡¯ll leave for the capital, and if she leaves the village as well, our mom will have to take care of Anna all by herself.¡± She looked at me, and it seemed she was thinking about her next words carefully. ¡°Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s prepared for that? It was obvious that you wouldn¡¯t stay at home forever. You¡¯ll be an adult soon, it¡¯s time you start living your own life. I¡¯m sure your mother is thankful to you for staying with her for so long, but it¡¯ll be time to start your own family eventually.¡± She was right. From the age of 16, someone was considered an adult. In about ten months, I¡¯d turn 16. Even if I didn¡¯t plan on becoming an adventurer, I wouldn¡¯t live with my mother for much longer. I¡¯d move out and start a family. My mother was a very intelligent woman, so I didn¡¯t think she wasn¡¯t prepared for that. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. There¡¯s no way she¡¯s not prepared. But it will still be hard for her to handle it all by herself. I wish I could do anything to lift that burden from her. I promised to find a cure for my sister, but I¡¯m not delusional thinking that this is just a matter of weeks or months. It hurts me knowing that I¡¯ll leave her behind all on her own.¡± Kiyara let out a soft chuckle. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± She took her time before answering me. ¡°Your mom¡­ is a very strong woman. In more than just one way. She won¡¯t have any problems, trust me.¡± I thought about her answer and decided that it didn¡¯t make any sense to me. Even though my mind was focused on the conversation, I realized that something was amiss. We should have reached the exit, or at least spotted the light of the mana stones through the gaps between the trees by now. The forest was dark and silent around us, only the sounds of swaying leaves in the wind and cracking branches beneath our feet were audible. I looked over to Kiyara, but it didn¡¯t seem like she noticed anything. Or maybe she had, and just didn¡¯t want me to worry. ¡°Kiyara¡­¡± ¡°I know. We¡¯re walking in circles. Someone, or something, created this illusion to trap us.¡± A cold sweat ran down my back. Someone or something wanted to trap us? Why? What could they want from us? This doesn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°So, what should we do now?¡± I tried my best to hide the fear that I felt, but I was pretty sure it was noticeable in my voice. ¡°We¡¯ll keep walking like we didn¡¯t notice anything. They will show themselves. And if they don¡¯t, we¡¯ll just find the exit eventually. ¡° I trusted her judgment of the situation, but couldn¡¯t shake the fear inside of me. I looked around the trees nervously, trying to spot any threat that might be waiting for us to let our guard down. We walked for another 20 minutes, when Kiyara grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking further. That was when I noticed them as well. Three people, hidden in the shadows of the trees. When they realized we had noticed them, the one in the middle stepped out of the shadows. They were not very tall, probably around 160 centimeters, and were clad in a dark robe which covered their body completely, with a hood that hid most of their face. The robe¡¯s color was hard to discern in the darkness, it could have been anything from a dark brown to a dark gray to black. The neckpiece of the robe was decorated with silver and gold ornaments, and a golden symbol which seemed to represent a setting sun was embroidered on their chest. I looked at the part of their face that wasn¡¯t covered by the hood, but couldn¡¯t see anything due to the darkness. ¡°I¡¯m impressed. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d notice us, witch.¡± That voice definitely belonged to a girl or young woman, which fit perfectly to her small and slender body. It was soft and melodic, yet firm and serious. I glanced at Kiyara, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She wore a stern and cold expression on her face. It filled me with hope to see that she remained calm and collected in this situation. ¡°I¡¯d notice your partner¡¯s smell anywhere. He stinks of death.¡± Her voice was steady, it didn¡¯t even shake a single time. So, this isn¡¯t just a facade that she built up, she really is calm. I tried to suppress the panic that rose to the surface of my mind. I trusted Kiyara with my life, if she remained calm in this situation, there was no reason for me to panic or be scared. The two people who remained in the shadows now came out and positioned themselves to either side of the girl. Both of them were taller than the girl, so it kind of looked like they were her guards. I took a closer look at them, and realized that only one of them could be classified as a person. From the little I could see of him, I¡¯d say he was a man. He was tall, and his body completely filled out his robe, which was identical to that of the girl. At a further glance, I noticed that although he filled out his robe completely, he wasn¡¯t fat, but incredibly muscular. The other one¡­ was a puppet. It kind of looked like a scarecrow. It was tall, with thin limbs that looked like sticks. Its movements were stiff and unnatural, and its face looked fake. If I¡¯d just see the face in the dark, maybe I¡¯d confuse it for a man. But in combination with the body, it was terribly obvious that this was the tool of a mage. This one didn¡¯t wear any clothes, and I could see the magic circles and runes that brought this thing to life. Kiyara taught me a lot about circles and runes, so it wasn¡¯t a problem for me to find out what purpose they each served. The circles etched onto the surface of the puppet were needed to transfer mana to the puppet, to make the puppet move, and to use the puppet as a medium to cast spells. The runes seemed to be of protective nature. This was just a cheap puppet, nothing special. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and noticed the gaze of the girl on me. I looked into her bright, yellow, gem-like eyes, the same ones I had seen earlier. I tried to look away, but it was impossible. It felt like her gaze burned a passage directly into my soul. ¡°Kiyara, the witch of greenwood forest¡­ and Kuro¡­ only son of the Moonshade family¡­ I¡¯ve waited for you. Especially for you.¡± She pointed her finger at my face. ¡°My name¡­ is Despair¡­ but you may also call me Soul eater. This is my partner, Agony. We¡¯re here to retrieve what¡¯s ours. Cooperate, and we might consider letting you live. Kuro, I want you to return what you stole from us. Give me the Word.¡± Chapter 4.5 - What Ill fight for Everything was dark around me. The last thing I remembered is getting attacked by a tall man. It all happened so fast, I couldn¡¯t even fight back. He grabbed me, pushed me down and choked me until I passed out. Then I found myself here in this dark space. I explored the space around me with my hands, trying to find out where I was. I searched around for what felt like an eternity, without finding anything my fingers could hold onto. I wanted to go back home, lay in my bed and read a book. Suddenly, my surroundings transformed into my bedroom. I was laying in my soft bed, with an open book next to me. This had to be magic. ¡°This has to be magic! That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking right now huh?¡± I jumped when I heard that voice. Nervously, I looked around the room, trying to find out where it came from. The door opened, and an older woman entered. She was wearing a black cloak, and high black boots. She looked like an older version of me, with longer hair, a scar on one of her tipped ears, and a few wrinkles on her forehead. Her expression was grim, and she looked like she didn¡¯t smile or laugh in a while. She seemed to be in her mid-thirties to mid-forties, with streaks of gray featuring her reddish brown hair. ¡°Did I leave you speechless, girl?¡± Even her voice was the same as mine, though she sounded more mature. ¡°Uhm, who are you and where am I?¡± I cut straight to the point, asking the important questions. ¡°Who am I¡­. that¡¯s indeed a good question. I guess I¡¯m you. Or at least a possible version of you in the future. A version, that chose the wrong path forward and lost everything in the process. As to where we are, this is the inside of your mind. The very place every single one of your thoughts and feelings come from.¡± A version of me that chose the wrong path¡­ ¡°What happened to my physical body? Did that man take me with him?¡± If I was in the hands of this man right now, I needed to wake up quickly and find a way to escape. ¡°Man? You mean the puppet? No, we were saved by Ryu and the old man Gilbert. Ryu brought you to Kuro¡¯s house, you¡¯re safe. The Puppet that attacked you belonged to one of the henchmen of the Eternal Darkness. They are with Kuro right now, trying to extract an ancient magical artifact from him. When you wake up, Layla will have arrived in town. Tell her to go help Kuro and Kiyara as fast as possible. And¡­ stop Ryu from following her at all costs.¡± Stop Ryu from following her? I didn¡¯t know If I could do that. He was so much stronger than me, if he wanted to go, there was nothing I could do to stop him. And the Eternal Darkness? What the heck was that? Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What¡­ is the Eternal Darkness?¡± A look of both sadness and anger crept into my older version¡¯s face. ¡°They are¡­ an organization of strong warriors. I don¡¯t know what their goals are, but they¡¯re up to no good. A confrontation with them usually ends with death. They¡¯re easy to identify though, so you won¡¯t have any problems avoiding them. Their trademark is a golden symbol that represents a setting sun.¡± She approached my bed and sat down next to me. I could feel the warmth of her body on my leg. She gently put her hand on my chest, just above my heart. ¡°Follow your heart. Don¡¯t follow the others¡¯ expectations. I ignored my heart and it took everything from me, don¡¯t make the same mistakes.¡± Her hand on my chest radiated a comforting warmth through my body. I wrapped my hand around hers and squeezed it gently. ¡°You say that you lost everything, but what do you mean by that? Please tell me about your past, so I can avoid your mistakes.¡± The warmth radiating from her hand into my body grew stronger and my room and the bed transformed into a new scene. I was now standing in front of a Gravestone next to my older self. The inscription on the Gravestone read: memorial of Hiko Silverleaf, a proud mother and the best fortune teller of Greenwood. I had barely read the inscription, when the scene changed again. It changed again and again, showing me only glimpses of what was about to happen. The sceneries changed so fast, my head started spinning and hurting. I was feeling nauseous all of a sudden again. I saw so many faces, I couldn¡¯t even remember all of them. Some of them were familiar, like Kuro and Ryu, or Nick, the son of one of the town¡¯s guards. Most of them I had never seen before. A dragonkin girl, bent over a lifeless body, crying. A teenage boy, just a little older than Kuro and Ryu, rampaging on a bloodied battlefield. Adventurers and soldiers fighting, killing, dying, and burning. The last person I saw was¡­ myself. Down on her knees, crying and mourning her loss. The lifeless and destroyed bodies of Kuro and Ryu, and many others I didn¡¯t know. It hurt my heart watching this version of myself and knowing that I¡¯d share her fate if I strode down the wrong path. My older version next to me started trembling, and I could see the tears that rolled down her reddened cheeks. I grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. ¡°Tell me what I can do to avoid this¡­ To make a difference.¡± My voice was a little hoarse, and I couldn¡¯t stop the tears falling myself. Seeing the dead and mangled bodies of my friends¡­ I had to fight the nausea before, but now it almost felt overwhelming to me. ¡°I already told you. Follow your heart. Don¡¯t try to meet their expectations. It¡¯s your life. No one has a say in it.¡± She sounded to be on the verge of breaking down crying, so I decided to not push her further. She¡¯d told me what I needed to know. ¡°Thank you for sharing this with me. I promise¡­ I promise to change this horrible future!¡± My doubts and fears that lingered inside me were nowhere to be found any longer. I¡¯ve made up my mind. I will join my friends on their adventures and prevent this insufferable future from happening. I was so weak, I always thought I could never make a difference¡­ It was time to get stronger now. I would show them who I am, protect my mother, my friends, and the future. ¡°I hope we¡¯ll never cross paths again.¡± She turned around and marched away, disappearing into a thin mist, seemingly blown away by a gust of wind. She was gone. I threw a last glance at the picture of her trembling form on the ground, crying, before I turned away as well. This future didn¡¯t interest me enough to throw it another glance. I was set out to prevent it after all. The instant I turned away from the disturbing scene, a clacking sound appeared in my head. CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! Congratulations! You have met the requirements to upgrade your skill [foresight (F)] to [foresight (E-)]. Your upgraded skill/s will be updated in your status window. I checked my status window, but the description has stayed the same. The only thing that has changed was the displayed rank. I closed my status window, and Imagined some of my old and fun memories to indulge myself until I woke up. Chapter 5 - Awakening ¡°I''ll say it one last time,¡± her voice was like a knife to my skin. ¡±Give me the word, and I may let you live.¡± My chest felt heavy. The word. What word? I could barely think straight, my thoughts were in pure chaos. She¡¯ll let me and Kiyara go. I just need to give her the Word¡­ the Word¡­ What even is this ¡°Word¡± that she¡¯s asking for? Thousands of thoughts started clashing against each other in my head. The thoughts kept getting louder and louder, screaming at me to just give her what she wanted. After what felt like an eternity, her clear and steady voice pulled me out of my trance. ¡°Hmm, the time is up. I gave you a chance to hand it over, now I¡¯ll have to take it from you.¡± Her words were ice in my veins, freezing my body in place. My body felt like lead. I started trembling as I stared into her predator-like eyes only moments away from being her hunted prey. I wanted to open my mouth and speak, tell her that I didn¡¯t have the slightest idea what she was talking about. But I couldn¡¯t. The fear rendered me unable to breathe and transformed me into a panting and quivering mess. ¡°KUROOO!!! WAKE UP!!! What is that Word that she¡¯s talking about?¡± My master¡¯s words cut through the fear and finally allowed me to breathe again. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! I d-don¡¯t have the slightest idea!¡± The mysterious girl narrowed her bright yellow eyes at me, and a mocking smile played on her lips as she heard the fear in my voice. ¡°Enough talk, I don¡¯t have all night to spare!¡± She cut our conversation off and dashed towards me with unbelievable speed. She reached me in the blink of an eye, buried her fist in my abdomen and sent me flying backwards. Before I could blink she moved in a blur of motion and slammed her fist into my stomach. Fire spread through me as the impact threw me backwards. I crashed onto the ground. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and stars exploded before my eyes. Light fell into my eyes from the edge of my vision, but I couldn¡¯t make out its source. It must have been Kiyara, fighting against the muscular man and his puppet. I tried to get up, but the pain was too great. Above the sound of my own heartbeat, I could hear the smacking noise of feet moving on wet mud. I was yanked up by my hair, and the girl whispered into my ear with her soft yet firm voice. ¡°You should have just given me the word when I asked for it, you foolish boy.¡± Her hand reached into the pocket on the inner side of my coat and pulled out the book I took with me from the library. She purred as she stroked the cover of the book with her fingers. ¡°Finally¡­ The Word¡­ I found it¡­¡± She let me fall to the ground and gave me a kick that knocked me off the ground and against a nearby tree. ¡°Now¡­ let me have a taste of your soul.¡± An animalistic hunger crept into her voice as she approached me yet again. I wanted to scream, get up and run away. I just wanted to get out of this nightmare. This could not be real, it had to be all just a bad dream. I tried to concentrate, tell myself this was a dream and wake up. Her foot crashed into me, and knocked the air out of my lungs again. My head was dizzy, and the sound of my heartbeat in my ears was gradually fading away. The merciless hands of unconsciousness grabbed my mind and dragged my thoughts into an endless void. ¡°Why don¡¯t you fight back? Are you fine with dying, and letting your teacher and friend die with you like that?¡± This voice sounded so familiar to me. The sound of my heartbeat was gone, as well as all the other sounds of the forest. Everything was gone, even the pain in my body and the muddy soil I was laying on. I opened my eyes and took in the scenery around me. I seemed to be inside a castle. The room was large, and there were four doors, one on each wall. A huge chandelier on the ceiling lit up the whole room. I was lying in front of a long table, with a chair on both ends. One chair was empty, on the other sat the source of the familiar voice. The demon woman that I saw in my dream sat on the chair, her legs crossed and her arms resting on the table. She wore a black dress with violet and silver ornaments, black boots with high heels, and her white hair was tied up in a bun. I could spot a silver necklace, earrings on her ears and a few rings on her fingers. Her black horns and demon wings completed her appearance. With the pain gone, I could finally get out a few words again. My tongue felt a bit numb, but I managed to get something out. ¡°Where am I? What is this place?¡± As I spoke, I noticed that the weird metallic taste of blood that was filling my whole mouth was gone. I tried to sit up straight, and to my surprise it worked. Her face lit up with a warm and genuine smile as she answered me. ¡°Now this is a good question. This place¡­ it¡¯s nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It exists in your mind, yet its origin is as old as the world itself. You should take a seat, we have a lot to discuss.¡± I got up and sat down at the other side of the table, just as she told me. Even though we¡¯ve only met once and only for a short time, I trusted her. ¡°Okay, now tell me about this. I thought I was about to die, why am I here now?¡± Her expression was stern, but her eyes still betrayed a hint of kindness. ¡°Let me start at the very beginning, the creation of this universe. This universe was created by the gods of the first generation. The 4 gods of creation, destruction, space and time worked together to create the Universe, the planets, and the stars. But when they tried to breathe life into it, it prospered only on this planet. Even though they had created something amazing like that, they weren¡¯t content. They created the skills, and bestowed them upon their creations. The god of creation wanted to be special among them, so he created unique skills, that could only be held by one living being at a time. The god of destruction became angry, because he didn¡¯t want to lose to the god of creation. He created his own unique set of skills, which were corrupted by his anger and hatred. When he passed them down to us, they became cursed skills. The gods of time and space were content with the paradise they created, and watched the tension between the gods of destruction and creation with fear. Eventually, the god of destruction was changed by his hatred and he started a war between the gods. He lost, and the other gods decided to hide their powers and live amongst the humans, eventually having children with them. These children are known as the gods of the second generation. I know this is a lot to take in, but it¡¯s important for you to understand the origin of our world. Our skill, the Anomaly skill, is one of the unique skills the god of creation created. That means, you¡¯re the only one in the whole world that has this skill.¡±Stolen story; please report. I listened to her story with bated breath. Her revelation that I was in possession of a unique skill shocked me. I didn¡¯t even have the Status skill, so how could I have any unique skill? ¡°How can that be? I don¡¯t even have the Status skill yet.¡± The kindness that was hidden in her eyes before filled her entire face now. ¡°Your first skill, the first after your Status skill I mean, is determined at birth. You don¡¯t need to have an awakened mana core to wield the Anomaly skill. I¡¯ll help you awaken your mana core, and with that, the Anomaly skill should activate as well.¡± I must have misheard her. She¡¯d help me awaken my mana core? This couldn¡¯t be real. As far as I knew, it wasn¡¯t possible to interact with someone else¡¯s mana core. But what if it was? If she really could help me¡­ My knowledge of beginner magic was vast. I knew a few dozen beginner spells, so the awakening of my mana core would give me a considerable power boost. ¡°I''m begging you¡­ please, help me awaken my mana core!¡± I looked at her with pleading eyes when she suddenly vanished and appeared behind me. She put her hands on my shoulders and I could feel something warm sinking through my clothes and into my body. ¡°Can you feel it? I¡¯m letting my mana flow through you, to stimulate your own mana flow. This may be a bit painful if your body doesn¡¯t have a functional mana network yet, but please bear with it.¡± It wasn¡¯t painful at all. An almost ecstatic feeling filled my body and made me shiver. This feeling of utter bliss felt like a river flowing through me, leaving only warmth behind. I looked up into the woman¡¯s violet eyes. ¡°I know this might be a little bit late but¡­ My name Is Kuro. Kuro Moonshade. Could you tell me your name, miss?¡± Before I could hear her answer, something changed inside of me. It felt like someone hit a reset button on my body. All of my senses turned numb, and the only thing that was left was a weird clicking sound in my head. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! Conditions met. Skill: [Status] has been unlocked and added to the skill list. Conditions met. Ability: [open Status window] has been unlocked and added to the ability list. Conditions met. Ability: [close Status window] has been unlocked and added to the ability list. Conditions met. Skill: [Anomaly] has been unlocked and added to the hidden unique skill list. Conditions met. Skill: Luck (F) has been unlocked and added to the skill list. I took a deep breath as my senses returned to my body. So that¡¯s what an awakening feels like. My whole body was shivering from happiness and excitement, but also something different. This was the moment I had dreamt of for so long. ¡°Please don¡¯t call me Miss, my name is Malvolia. Congratulations on getting your first skill.¡± I had forgotten my question, so I was a bit taken aback when she answered. ¡°Malvolia, huh? Thank you. I¡¯d love to hear more about this Anomaly thing, but there¡¯s someone I need to help. Can I come back here and talk to you later?¡± She showed me her beautiful genuine smile and nodded. ¡°As long as you¡¯re alive, you can come back here anytime you want. You¡¯re a part of this place, and this place is a part of you.¡± I returned her smile, closed my eyes and focused. I focused on the forest and Kiyara. I needed to get back there. After a minute of concentration, Malvolia¡¯s voice pulled me out of my focus. ¡°Uhm, what are you doing? You said you need to go, so why do you keep sitting there? There¡¯s the exit.¡± I opened my eyes and looked where she was pointing at. It was a big door behind me. I got up and approached it. Just when I reached or the knob to open it, the door opened up by itself, and revealed a white empty space. So that¡¯s how the exit of a place as old as the universe looks like, huh? I turned around to thank her, but I didn¡¯t get anything out. What she did for me is more than I could ever repay. ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. Go out there. Save your teacher, and return home safely. Good luck, Kuro.¡± I felt tears of gratitude well up in my eyes so I just nodded and turned away from her. Then I gathered all of my courage and walked through the door. That¡¯s when everything came back. The pain, the hard tree against my back, the mud beneath my body¡­ and the girl, the Soul Eater, bent over my body. I could still feel the warmth in my body, so I gathered my hope that it wasn¡¯t just a dream and tried to use a spell. ¡°Wind, heed my call. Remove what¡¯s tainted and give me room to breathe. Wind strike!¡± A gust of wind emerged and pushed the body of the Soul Eater off me. I finally found the strength to get up, even though I had to lean on a tree for support. My body was shaking violently. Even though I was in extreme pain, that wasn¡¯t the reason. I was shaking from excitement. Finally, I had a means to fight back. I looked for the Soul Eater, but I couldn¡¯t see her. The only thing I saw was Kiyara, fighting against the bear of a man that the Soul Eater introduced as Agony. The shattered and burned remains of the puppet were scattered all over the place. I couldn¡¯t help myself and laughed loudly. Kiyara was an incredibly strong mage. It would take a lot more than just a puppet and a mage to stop her. She blocked the man''s attacks with a simple mana barrier and hit him with a fireball. It seemed like puppet control was the only form of magic he was adept in, because he wasn¡¯t able to extinguish the fire. But even though he screamed in pain as he burned, he didn¡¯t give up the fight. Kiyara¡¯s face was distorted in emotional pain and sadness as she used another fire spell to deliver the final blow to him and burn a hole through his chest. I wanted to run to her, tell her what happened, see if she was okay¡­ But there was still something I had to do. She ruined this evening for me, attacked me on my way home, and stole from me what I had rightfully stolen from the library. I needed to make this Soul Eater pay. ¡°Soul Eater, come out. We¡¯re not done yet.¡± I shouldn¡¯t have been so arrogant. Just one second after I finished talking, something crashed into my back and threw me over. I felt the weight of the Soul Eater get on my back and push my head down with her foot. ¡±Oh how the weak have become brave¡±, she purred. ¡°You think a flicker of power changes anything? Don''t forget you''re still the prey, little boy. And I''m still starving.¡± Her voice was dripping with contempt and not at all soft or melodic. I tried to get up, but her weight was more than enough to keep me down, and also hindered me from drawing enough breath to shout for Kiyara to help me. Despite this precarious situation, a quiet chuckle escaped me. My awakening left me euphoric, I felt so high on the bliss that I even forgot the pain in my body. ¡°Laughing in the face of death? You¡¯re either insane or you simply accepted your fate. Either way, your life ends now¡± I heard something sharp cut through the air towards my back, maybe a knife or a dagger. The next thing I felt was the weight on my back shifting and losing its balance, as a sword knocked the blade of the Soul Eater away. Thank you, luck. ¡°Took you long enough, Layla.¡± I pushed myself off the ground and forced the Soul Eater to get off me. The Soul Eater spat on the ground and I saw hatred burn in her yellow eyes. ¡°You may have survived this time, but it doesn''t matter. I¡¯ll find you, and when I do, you''ll wish I''d have killed you today.¡± My precious elder sister pointed the tip of her slightly curved sword at her. Her voice was cold and emotionless as she spoke. ¡°Get out of here. Now. If you talk to, or touch, my brother ever again¡­ I will kill you.¡± There was no hatred or anger in her voice. This wasn¡¯t a threat. It was a promise. Suddenly, Kiyara came to a halt next to me. We outnumbered her three to one, staying here and accepting that fight would be plain stupidity. She wasn¡¯t stupid. A pool of shadows gathered at her feet and she slowly began sinking down into the shadows. ¡°I will enjoy killing you. Be cautious of dark alleys, for I will definitely come to take your soul.¡± With that, she completely vanished into the shadows. Even though I was just attacked by a psychotic girl in the night and have seen her partner burn alive, I was happy. I awakened my mana core, and got my first skill. But what¡¯s even more important, I finally understood why my sister left the village when we needed her. What happened to me, could happen to anyone. And what if they didn¡¯t have a strong sister to save them? Watching my sister drive the soul eater away, I finally understood that Layla wasn''t just my sister. She was a protector, a force standing between darkness and innocence. She had the power to change something, so she did. She left Greenwood to save people like me, and tonight she showed me what it meant to be strong. For the first time I didn''t envy her. One day I¡¯d make her proud to call me her brother. Chapter 6 - Friends It had already been a while since Layla arrived at the house and set out to go looking for Kuro. Even though Shizuka told me not to go, I couldn¡¯t just keep sitting around any longer. I had been sitting on Kuro¡¯s bed, listening to the voices of Shizuka¡¯s and Kuros mother Lisbeth¡¯s voices. I couldn¡¯t understand any of what they said, but just hearing them talk calmed my restless soul down a little. What Shizuka said, that Kuro is in danger, left me anxious. Kuro and I were like day and night. He was the one who overthought and I was the one who charged ahead without a plan. Somehow, it worked out for us so far. But sitting here, knowing he was out there, in danger¡­ It was eating me alive. He was my best friend. He always had been. If something happened to him, I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d do. Since we were kids, the both of us strived to become the strongest adventurers. What started as a childish dream, manifested itself into a deeply rooted wish. We may not have had a good reason for our dream back then, but things changed. Instead of being the strongest for myself, I want to become the strongest to help others. Deep in my heart I could feel that it was the same for Kuro. When I tried to save Shizuka earlier, it felt very good. The power I had acquired finally served a purpose. It¡¯s true that we had to be saved by the old man Gil in the end, but without my intervention the puppet would have taken Shizuka with her, or even worse, killed her. I opened my status window to check out my skill list. ¡°Perception, huh?¡± A humorless chuckle escaped me. I had been saved by a lucky coincidence. It wasn¡¯t my power that saved Shizuka. It was nothing more than a pure coincidence. Unless¡­ I could remember hearing a voice in my head saying something about requirements that have been met¡­ What if skills weren¡¯t acquired at random? What if I didn¡¯t acquire the perception skill out of pure coincidence¡­ If acquiring a skill was bound to a condition, maybe it was the same for the activation of the mana core and the acquiring of the status skill. Before I could explore that thought further, a knock on the door pulled me out of my trance. I took a last glance at my skill list and then closed my status window. ¡°Come in, the door is open.¡± I didn¡¯t even finish my sentence when the door started opening already. When Shizuka walked in, I could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were all puffy, and her face was bright red. I wanted to say something, maybe crack a joke to lighten the mood, but nothing came out. What could I even say? I just scooted over giving her some space to sit. She sat down quietly and for a while, we just sat like that, not saying even a single word We just sat next to each other in the dark, without saying anything. After what felt like ten minutes, Shizuka leaned into me, shaking. At first I froze. I didn''t know what to do. But then I just wrapped my arms around her. She clung to me so tightly, like letting go wasn¡¯t an option. Her tears soaked through my shirt but I didn''t care. She needed this and maybe I did too. ¡°It''s okay¡± I said quietly, even though I wasn''t sure if it really was. ¡°Shizuka, I-¡° ¡°Thank you... I was so afraid¡­ I thought I was about to die. If you hadn¡¯t come for me¡­¡± Her fingers dug into my shoulders as she cut me off, as her body was completely overwhelmed by her emotions. I was at a loss for words, so I just held her tightly. We sat there for a while, just embracing each other. Whether it was a coincidence or not, it didn¡¯t matter to me anymore. I saved her, and I would do everything in my power to become strong and save even more. ¡°Shizuka¡­ I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you. You¡¯re one of my best friends. When Kuro and I make ourselves on our way to the capital to become adventurers¡­ I¡¯ll miss you the most.¡± She dried her tears and wiped her face on my shirt and looked up at me with her big, sparkling green eyes. ¡±You won''t have to miss me.¡° She said, ¡±I''ve decided. I can¡¯t keep wandering aimlessly. I want to find my purpose. And I think I''ll find it out there, with you and Kuro. I''ll get stronger to keep up with you. Please, don¡¯t leave me behind.¡± The light shining in her eyes was proof of her determination. I thought about it for a moment, unsure if I should reject her or not. But was there really a reason to reject her? Kuro didn¡¯t have a skill yet, so Shizuka was just about on his level. It would also be fun to travel with both of them, laugh and cry together. I could already imagine it in my head, the three of us completing our first mission for the adventurer¡¯s guild. Deep down, I had wished for this. I opened my mouth, wanting to tell her that I wanted nothing more than to have her join us on our journey, when we got interrupted. The door opened and Shizuka and I quickly scurried away from each other, our cheeks blushing lightly. Kuro¡¯s mother stood in the doorway, with a slight smirk on her face. Her voice was warm and full of warm kindness and relief. ¡°Come down you two. They¡¯re back.¡± My brain needed a moment to realize the meaning of her words. I jumped up and ran past her, almost flying out of the room and down the stairs. And¡­ there he was. Beaten and bruised, a few cuts and a lot of mud decorated his face. I¡¯ve gotten so used to his serious side that I had almost forgotten the cheerful and happy boy that I saw now. When I entered the living room, Kiyara and Layla, who had been sitting next to Kuro, got up to leave the two of us alone.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Okay boys, we¡¯ll leave you two alone. I¡¯m sure you have a lot to talk about. Kiya, let¡¯s go see Anna, shall we?¡± With that, both of them left us alone and went upstairs. I sat down next to Kuro. I was really glad for the opportunity to talk to him alone. I don¡¯t know what it is, but Kiyara¡¯s presence made me feel very uncomfortable. I waited until I couldn¡¯t hear the steps on the stairs anymore, then I began to speak. ¡°Shizuka was¡­ She was attacked when she came here. When I found her, a puppet tried to do something to her. I managed to protect her with a new skill and with Gil¡¯s help¡± Something flashed inside Kuro¡¯s eyes. Was it anger? No¡­ The flash I saw in his eyes right now¡­ it was the feeling you have when something you had already expected happens. The bruises, cuts and dirt on his face¡­ Whoever attacked Shizuka must have attacked him as well. I had to know for sure. ¡°Were you¡­ also attacked by a puppet?¡± I hesitated, the question was caught in my throat like a stone I couldn''t swallow. Even though I felt I already knew the answer. My heart was pounding as i waited for him to speak ¡°Not just by a puppet, but by its master and another mage as well. We were trapped in an illusion. When we found out that we were, they showed themselves and attacked us.¡± My stomach tightened at his words. A puppet, its master and a mage, possibly even more of them lurking out of sight? The thought of such an organized attack made my blood run cold. Together with the puppet that attacked Shizuka¡­ This could have been the work of a whole adventurer¡¯s party¡­ Even though I¡¯ve never heard of a party with three or even more mages. ¡°I don¡¯t know how, but Shizuka knew you were in danger and told Layla to go help you immediately after she arrived. Impressive that Kiyara was able to protect both of you long enough.¡± Kuro¡¯s lips twitched and for the first time since we started talking, a genuine grin broke through, softening his features that were previously strained from exhaustion. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just Kiyara, you know? I¡­ My mana core¡­ it finally awakened. I was about to die, this¡­ this monster had me trapped. She called herself a Soul Eater¡­ I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened if I couldn¡¯t shake her off there.¡± His shoulders were visibly shaking. His mana core had awakened. After all these years he had spent waiting, he finally did it¡­ ¡°Do you remember what I told you? Stop worrying too much. You survived, so why overthink the past? Forget about that and tell me how you managed to survive!¡± I tried my best not to show it, but inside I was so happy. Kuro, who had waited so long, finally awakened. That meant that there was nothing standing in our way of becoming adventurers. ¡°I acquired a skill¡­ A voice in my head said something about conditions that have been met.¡± His voice sounded like he was hesitant to tell me about it, as if it was something shameful. I looked at him full of expectations, wanting to hear the full truth about his skill. ¡°My skill is luck. Because of my skill, Layla arrived in time to save me from a blade that was aimed at my back.¡± Luck¡­ Unpredictable, but clearly strong at the right moment. I almost told him about my own new skill but held it back. This was Kuro¡¯s time. After everything he''d been through, he deserved to own this victory. I smiled, my voice soft. ¡°You did it, Kuro. You waited so long and now¡­ you''ve made it. I felt a hot tear running down my cheek. I was so happy for him. I had watched him being torn down by not having a skill for such a long time. There was a gentleness in his eyes that I had not seen for a long time. A fire that had been reignited. Normally I wouldn¡¯t let anyone see me cry, but because these were tears of pure happiness and joy, I let them fall freely. Kuros¡¯s tears started falling, but they weren''t tears of joy.There was something heavier behind them, something raw and painful. Even with his mana core awakened, even with this skill that he got, it was clearly the weight of what happened still crushing him. ¡°They got what they wanted. Neither were they after me nor after Kiyara. I¡­ I stole a book from the library earlier. That¡¯s what they were after. Maybe they didn¡¯t try to kill Shizuka¡­ What if she has something they want?¡± Shizuka had¡­ something those guys wanted? That would mean she was still in danger. It would be good to take her with us on our journey so we could protect her. Should I tell Kuro that Shizuka wanted to tag along? No, better not, it¡¯s not important right now. ¡°Kuro, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re well and alive, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it gently, trying to show him my support. I can¡¯t remember how long we sat there. After what felt like an hour, Shizuka came down the stairs and joined us. When she saw Kuro cry, she came over and wrapped his arms around his neck, telling him everything would be alright. For the next few hours, we exchanged everything that had happened between each other, leaving out no details. Except for my new skill, I still haven¡¯t told them about it yet. Eventually Layla, Kiyara, and Kuro¡¯s mother Lisbeth joined us in the living room and I told them what had happened to me and Shizuka as well. Even after everything that happened we decided to celebrate Layla¡¯s return. It felt strange to laugh and eat together after so much chaos, but maybe that''s exactly what we needed¡­ a moment to breathe, to be normal even if only for a little while. Initially, I had planned to challenge Layla to a duel, to see how good my swordplay had become. Considering the circumstances, this would have been highly inappropriate. I would get my chance eventually. Maybe even sooner than I myself had anticipated. Loud giggling from the other side of the large table in the living room caught my attention. I didn¡¯t know how she got there, but Kuro¡¯s little sister Anna had been sat down on the armchair next to the table, with Layla, Lisbeth and Kiyara taking turns feeding her. Layla was pretty drunk, so I guessed she went upstairs at some point and brought her sister down to the party. It was nice seeing everyone so carefree. At the end of the party, when tiredness filled our eyes, we decided that everyone would stay at the Moonshade family¡¯s home. There was only one guest room, which had been Layla¡¯s room when she was still living here, so Kuro, Shizuka and I decided to sleep in the living room in sleeping bags. It was very noble of Kuro to give his bed to Kiyara, what a gentleman. The sleeping bags were old, but due to their amazing Quality they were in perfect shape. I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around why a normal family would need such high quality sleeping bags, but in the end it didn¡¯t matter. Everything that mattered was that I had a very good and relaxing sleep that night. Chapter 6.5 - Soul Eater I hated mirrors. Every time I looked into one, I was forced to look at a reflection of my own pathetic face. The moment I became the soul eater¡­no, the moment I bowed to those rats in the organization, I felt my self-respect slip away. Day by day, piece by piece. I''ve become a shadow of who I was. I had to remind myself that this was a necessary evil. If I wanted to change the world for the better, I had to keep going and endure it. I had no time to cry. What happened in the Greenwood Forest was something that I could never allow to happen again. In the end I got what I wanted, but it didn¡¯t go how I planned it at all. I had underestimated the boy and this stupid witch. I let my small fingers caress the book that I had been searching for so long. At least I was able to acquire it. The book had been one of two objectives of our mission. That idiot Agony had messed up our second objective, kidnapping the girl with his puppet. I told him one puppet would not be enough, he should have listened to me. In the end, because he didn¡¯t survive, I had to go back to the village myself. Because our initial target was under the protection of the third strongest adventurer in the Sural kingdom, I had to go for the other one. She was easy to kidnap, it was almost like a stroll in the park. My plan to kidnap the girl had been foolish. We couldn¡¯t risk raising unnecessary awareness of our activities. Lost in my mind, I flipped through the pages of the book. I had been sitting here, trying to extract its wisdom for hours already, but I didn¡¯t find what I wanted yet. ¡°Come on, give me something, anything.¡± I muttered to the book, running my fingers along its worn side. ¡±I''ve hunted you down, risked everything and you''re just going to sit there, silent?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I knew I was losing it, talking to an object. I couldn¡¯t help the frustration gnawing at me. Not finding my answers in the book made me angry. I have had serious anger issues for quite some time now. The rage I felt burning in my chest was so strong it was almost choking me. The moonshade brats, the smug superiors in the eternal darkness, the cursed bearers all fueled the fire. My nails dug into my palms until they threatened to draw blood. I couldn''t let it consume me¡­ not yet¡­ I got what I needed, so I should be happy. What was it that kept my joy at bay? This was just a rhetorical question, because I knew the answer all too well. Kuro¡­ that boy¡­ Just when I was about to feast upon his soul, his mana core awakened? Someone has got to be kidding me. This had to be some sick, perverted prank. I kept telling myself that it wasn¡¯t fair, but I shouldn¡¯t have had any problems killing him even after his awakening. He just caught me off guard and managed to stall enough time for the other brat to arrive¡­ He wouldn¡¯t be so lucky next time. I won¡¯t let anyone mock me and live. I was a predator, and he was my prey. I heard a dry, throaty chuckle escape my lungs. There was no trace of my self-hatred left, only pure animalistic bloodlust. ¡°Kuro¡­ You should look out. I will make you suffer in ways you could never imagine. I will break you down until you beg me to kill you.¡± I could already imagine a few things I would do to him. A wicked grin spread on my face and a twisted delight filled me. I would be watching his steps closely, and the moment he made a mistake and dropped his guard, I would strike. He wouldn¡¯t get away a second time. His soul was mine after all. ¡°Run as far as you can Kuro moonshade. But no matter where you go, the wolf is always faster and always hungrier. And I''m not done hunting yet. This¡­ is merely the beginning.¡± I muttered to myself as I started planning my next steps. Chapter 7 - Mother When I woke up, Kuro¡¯s and Ryu''s sleeping bags were empty. Sunlight poured through the windows, casting the living room in warm shades of orange and red. The place was a disaster, plates, cups and crumbs scattered everywhere. I groaned and stretched: my back aching from the floor before deciding someone had to clean this up. ¡°Of course¡±, I muttered, stacking all the dishes into a basket. ¡°Those two just vanish and leave me with the mess...¡± Then I grabbed a clean cloth and wiped the table. It wasn¡¯t much, but I tried my best to help. Kuro and Ryu were dirty pigs, waking up before me and leaving this mess without cleaning up even a little bit. Thinking of them, where even were they? I made my way through the house and looked for any trace of them. Ten Minutes, an awkward situation with Layla in the bathroom, and an almost neck-breaking fall down the stairs later, I finally found them. They were outside, in front of the house. The windows on the front side of the house were high up, so I couldn¡¯t see much of them. When I opened the front door to join them, the sound of their wooden training swords crashing into each other filled the air. I quickly closed the door behind me to keep the cold air outside. They were so lost in their training that they didn¡¯t even notice me when I sat down on a rock right next to them. I had watched their training multiple times already, but this time they both seemed much more focused than ever before. Even though Kuro only practiced sword fighting when he helped Ryu train, his movements were fast and sharp, with only a few unnecessary movements. He was pretty good, but Ryu was just so much better. I watched them swing their blades through the air, entangled in a fierce dance that would¡¯ve ended in one of their deaths if their blades were real. Watching them train helped me calm my nerves somehow. Their sharp movements had a certain calmness in them that captured my attention and completely captivated me. I wasn¡¯t able to move like that, so I needed to find a way to fight that suited me. A party usually consisted of five to seven adventurers, with each member fulfilling a specific role. These roles were called jobs by the adventurer guild. There were so many different kinds of jobs that it was hard to remember all of them. Kuro had been reading an adventure guide in the library, so maybe it would be a good idea to ask for his opinion. Just as I thought that, Ryu smacked Kuro¡¯s sword away and poked his chest with the tip of his training blade. ¡°It seems that I have won again, Kuro.¡±, he said triumphantly. When Kuro laughed at Ryu¡¯s remark, I could see a spark of mischief in his eyes. ¡°We can permit the use of magic next time, let¡¯s see if it¡¯ll be this easy for you again.¡± It had been a long time since I¡¯d seen Kuro so carefree. I didn¡¯t know what Ryu, Layla and Kiyara said to him after what happened in the forest, but it seemed to have helped him. Just as they shook hands, Ryu noticed me. He jumped a bit, as if he was startled by my presence. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you¡­ You were gone when I woke up and I didn¡¯t want to disturb your sparring.¡± Ryu visibly relaxed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you didn¡¯t surprise me at all actually.¡± Before he could continue, Kuro butted into the conversation and cut Ryu off. ¡°Did you want to join our sparring session?¡± That question caught me off guard. Did Kuro think wielding a sword would suit me? I was way too fragile to wield a sword or any other kind of melee weapon. ¡°Uhm, no. I actually wanted to ask you two for advice. I¡¯ve been thinking about my role in the party. There¡¯re so many jobs, and I can¡¯t remember all of them. Do you guys have an idea what would suit me?¡± They didn''t even need to think about it. Ryu and Kuro exchanged a quick glance, the kind only best friends can pull off and answered at the same time, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°Ranger or rogue¡±, they said, perfectly in sync. I blinked, taken aback. ¡°Why those?¡± I asked, curious.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°A ranger scouts and protects from a distance,¡± Kuro explained. ¡°You have sharp senses and can navigate unknown territory easily.¡± ¡°And a rogue operates in the shadows, eliminating threats swiftly,¡± Ryu added. ¡°You¡¯re fast and can move quietly.¡± I nodded, considering their words. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll think about it. Thanks for the advice.¡± I could see where they were coming from, and I had a feeling that I would end up choosing one of those two jobs. I just had to decide which I should pick. It wasn¡¯t like you couldn¡¯t change your job if you didn¡¯t like it, but the adventurer guide said that every service of the adventurer guild came with a fee. If I made a wrong decision, I would be stuck with a job I didn¡¯t like for a while. When I finally got out of my thoughts, I noticed that Ryu and Kuro were staring at me. Their awaiting gazes made me feel like I had been asked a question. ¡°Sorry, say that again.¡± I could feel my cheeks blush, this was an awkward situation. Calm and slowly, Ryu repeated his question. ¡°I wanted to know if you already had something in mind and just wanted to hear our thoughts.¡± I immediately shook my head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t have any idea yet, that¡¯s why I wanted to hear your opinions. I think in the end I will pick one of the jobs you suggested. But I have yet to make up my mind which would be best for me, so please have patience.¡± I threw them a grateful smile and felt warmth spread in my chest when they returned it. I Didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without them. I was so incredibly glad that those two were my friends. We talked about our plans for the upcoming days and for our departure from the village. Apparently, Layla and Kiyara had offered Kuro to train us and prepare us for our journey. Layla even got a job for us to earn some money on our way. She had good ties with the travelling merchants, and made them hire us as junior bodyguards. The pay wasn¡¯t very good, but we could gather some experiences and get to the capital pretty fast at least. Travelling with the merchants, we also had a fixed date for our departure. The merchants would leave in nine days, so we effectively had seven or eight days to train and get ready. It wasn¡¯t much, but better than nothing. After we talked about our plans, I said my goodbyes to them and started making my way home. I would gather my important stuff in my bag and tell my mother about my decision to join my friends on their adventures. I was a little scared of her reaction, but I didn¡¯t think she would try to stop me. She was always supportive when she had the feeling that I was doing what I truly wanted. At this moment, I didn¡¯t know that what would await me at home would be far worse than the disapproval of my mother. The moment I stepped in front of my house, I knew something was wrong. The air felt heavy, like a dark shadow had seeped into the walls and stolen all the warmth from the place. The door hung open, its lock shattered and a clean slash cut deep into the frame. My chest tightened as I stepped inside, my voice trembling. ¡°M-Mom...?¡± I quietly spoke into the darkness, looking for any sign of my mother. I found my way to the windows and opened the shutters to let some light inside. I wanted to cry at the sight in front of my eyes. My home, the house that my mother and I had lived in for many years had been devastated. The couch and the table had been destroyed and their remains were shattered across the floor. Cooking utensils had been ripped out from the drawers and shelves and scattered across the room. Pieces of the walls and the ceiling had broken off and completed the picture of my destroyed home. I searched every room, but there was no trace of my mother. The only thing I found was a few drops of blood on the carpet in the living room and a picture of my mother and me. I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but I found myself on the floor with the picture clutched to my chest. I cried so much that I didn¡¯t have any tears left. My eyes were burning, and the feeling of crying became painful, but I couldn¡¯t stop. ¡°Mama¡­ Please come back¡­¡± My voice cracked and I felt a sharp pain in my throat. I remembered how I got attacked myself, and I felt guilt deep in my chest. My mother had been attacked, because they didn¡¯t get me. It was my fault that she was gone. It was my fault that our home had been reduced to trash and rubble. It all just happened because I sat around for years, doing nothing and waiting for an opportunity to do something with my life. If I had been stronger, I could have protected my mother. ¡°Mama¡­¡± It was just a word, but it made my throat tighten so much that I couldn¡¯t breathe anymore. I needed her back. I needed to know she was safe. There were so many words unsaid between us, I had to make this right. ¡°I¡¯ll find you Mom¡±, I whispered, my voice cracked and raw. ¡°I¡¯ll get stronger¡­ I promise. Just¡­ wait for me. Please.¡± The words felt empty in the wreckage around me, but I clung to them like a lifeline. I had to believe she was still out there. I had to. I just laid there on the floor for a few hours, tightly clutching my mother¡¯s picture to my chest. Chapter 8 - My Savior The clash of our training swords echoed down the grassy hill. I usually had an easy victory over Kuro whenever we sparred, but his sister was an entirely different caliber. Her strikes were fast, strong and gracious, with no unnecessary movements or hesitations to be found. It was like an endless stream of flowing water, clashing against my defenses and grinding them down like a rock in the raging current of a river. Layla had picked one of the hills right next to the village as the spot for our training, mostly because it was quiet and secluded, and protected us from prying eyes. I was relieved that Layla had agreed to train the three of us in basic combat to prepare us for our upcoming journey. As the third strongest adventurer in the kingdom, she could teach us many things, even in the limited time we had. Layla¡¯s sword whistled through the air in a downward arc. I barely dodged in time, the blade grazing past my shoulder. ¡°Focus Ryu,¡±she said, her voice sharp. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re thinking about is not important right now. Forget everything and just focus on me and my sword.¡± Before I could answer, she already took her next swing at me and grazed my cheek with the tip of the training blade. Even though it was made out of wood, the tip was sharp enough to penetrate my skin and draw a trickle of blood. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the hundreds of thoughts in my head. I had to take this seriously, she was completely right. I raised my training blade and took the initiative, attacking her with a quick stab followed by an upward slash. She dodged the stab and blocked the slash with ease, leaving me in an open and vulnerable position. Before I could recover, Layla''s boot struck my chest, sending me to the ground. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, and I groaned, clutching my chest. She extended a hand, her wooden sword discarded on the ground, a silent signal that the sparring session was over. I gladly accepted the hand she offered me and rammed my own blade into the ground before taking a minute to admire the view from the top of the hill. It had already been a few hours since Shizuka came back and told us about what happened to her mother. Shortly after we managed to calm her down a bit, Layla and Kiyara told us to pack some important things and follow them. They led us to the top of this hill and made us gather wood and stones for a campfire. That was the moment our training had officially begun. I had spent the whole afternoon and evening sparring with Layla, while the other two got some practical training in magic from Kiyara. Deeply lost in thoughts, Layla¡¯s firm voice startled me. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the camp. I¡¯m sure the others have already put down the tent.¡± I nodded and followed along as we made our way through the uneven and rocky terrain. My body was tired and heavy, but a surge of energy filled me as soon as I saw the fire in the distance. Our training spot was a thirty minute walk away from the campsite we picked, making the way back pretty hard after a long training session. The day had been relatively warm, so the ground wasn¡¯t as wet and moist as it had been yesterday. Ten minutes before we arrived at camp, the fire went out. The others must have already been asleep. When we finally arrived, I saw that the others were in the tent, sleeping peacefully. ¡°Ryu, It¡¯s time for your last lesson for today. For an adventurer, having a basic understanding of magic is absolutely crucial. That¡¯s why I want you to light a fire using only magic. Focus on what you want to do and get a feeling of the mana flowing through your body.¡± Magic wasn''t new to me, I''d tried it before, though only on small things like a candle. But lighting a fire with nothing but mana? That was a whole different challenge. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth inside me, letting it flow through my veins and into the wood.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try my best!¡± I closed my eyes and focused on the warm energy flowing through my body. If this was a stressful situation, I¡¯d probably need a spell to channel the mana, but in this case, I could actually concentrate and make do with my mind alone. I tried to imagine a flame in my mind and let my mana flood out into the wood in the stone ring. There were still embers from the last fire, which made it a lot easier. I focused on those embers and tried to amplify their heat to make the wood burn. I opened my eyes and extended my hands and palms towards the wood. I concentrated harder and let more mana flow out of my body. The mana flowing out of my body was like an extension of my limbs and my senses. As soon as I felt the embers, I channeled everything I had into them until they started glowing brighter, eventually lighting the wood on fire. A wave of dizziness hit me, my legs giving out beneath me. Before I hit the ground, I felt Layla''s arms catch me, guiding me down gently. She rested my head on something soft and I could feel the warmth of her hand brushing the hair out of my face. ¡°Good job, you did it on your first try. I¡¯m actually impressed. You look like you¡¯re about to pass out though.¡± Oh, I would¡¯ve definitely loved to pass out now. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m feeling pretty bad though.¡± My tongue was heavy, and I wasn¡¯t sure if what I wanted to say actually came out of my mouth. The way I was feeling, something like ¡°mpfh-munfh¡± might have also come out. Layla giggled, but it wasn¡¯t mocking in any way. ¡°That is perfectly normal. It happens when you use most of your body¡¯s mana capacity in a short time. Once you get used to using magic, your mana pool will grow and you will have less problems with mana sickness.¡± I tried to sit up, but she pushed me back down. I just now realized that my head had been resting on her lap the entire time. ¡°You need to rest, just try to relax. Once the nausea has subsided, you can sit up.¡± I hoped that she wouldn¡¯t see me blush in the orange-red light and the dancing shadows of the fire. I just laid there, my head resting on her lap with her fingers stroking through my hair. If I didn¡¯t have such a deeply rooted respect for her, this might have felt romantic. I was really grateful that she sparred with me, even though she had crushed my dreams of being equal to her by doing so. During all the time I had spent training, trying to catch up to her, I had forgotten that she had gotten stronger as well. I wanted to thank her for training us, and for giving us the opportunity to get to the capital city with the travelling merchants, but my tongue was too heavy to say anything. It felt like a lump of lead, sewed into the inside of my mouth. I would get my chance to thank her properly later, so I just stared into the dancing flame and tried to get my mind to rest for now. From the inside of the tent, I could hear someone stir in their sleep. According to the troubled noises they made, it had to be Shizuka. She had been going through a lot lately. First the shock of being attacked, and then having her mother kidnapped¡­ Kuro and I would help her find her mother for sure. She would have done the same for us after all. That was what it meant to be friends. To stick together, in good and bad times. ¡°Layla, how can I become strong like you?¡± The words left my mouth without me realizing. The way Layla looked at me, something inaudible just left my mouth. I was actually glad that she didn¡¯t understand me. I didn¡¯t want her to know that she was my hero, the one that I had admired ever since I met her. ¡°Nothing, forget about it.¡± Once again, something muffled and inaudible left my mouth. It didn¡¯t matter anyway. We spent some more time at the fire together and Layla told me some stories from back when she was a rookie adventurer. Her stories sounded so exciting, I couldn¡¯t help but feel warmth in my entire body when I thought about my own adventure life. I couldn¡¯t remember clearly, but I fell asleep on her lap at some point. I woke up again when she wrapped the sleeping bag and a blanket around me. The moonlight was caught in Layla''s white hair, giving it an almost eternal glow. In that moment she didn''t just look like a warrior, she looked like something out of a legend. She had saved me once and now she was shaping me into something stronger. I couldn¡¯t await the day when I would finally surpass her. My whole body trembled in anticipation, until I finally fell asleep and set foot into the realm of dreams.