The cold winds blow through the forest, and in the forest a house built with brick and wood stood in the center of that forest. Near the house was a small well and some wood inside the well. The door was open, and a man in his 40s with a thick black beard stood there. "It's gonna get dark soon, I should go for hunting." He turned around and looked up at the window on the 2nd floor of the house. "Nork! Are you coming for hunting?" "No, I'm busy right now!" "Busy with what?" "I'm making a spell." "What? Spell? How many times am I gonna tell you, you're a fighter, not a mage." "I know, I'm just testing if the spell I create can be used." "Do whatever you want, then I'm heading for hunting." "Ok, come back soon, Uncle Shiang." "What a child… dreaming to learn both swordsmanship and magic," he muttered with a smile.
Nork's room was in a mess, papers thrown here and there. With frustration, he was trying to write something properly to create a spell. "Damn it, I still need to make a perfect one." He used Astral energy in his feather pen and almost finished the page, but suddenly the page turned bright violet. "Oh no, this is not good—" The paper exploded, and Nork's face turned black, his hair burned. He cursed himself, "Damn it, I can't do it…" He fell back on the floor, one arm covering his face. "Learning magic is really hard…" He removed his arm and stared at the ceiling. "Besides, I'm 18 now… I am eligible now to go for registration in a guild and go out for adventure." He put both his arms back to his shoulder. "Will Uncle Shiang let me go?" Suddenly his face turned into anger. "Why did those demons attack my town… why were they after me? I need to know…" He sighed. "But right now I'm hungry… it's getting night now… I guess I should have gone with him." He stood up and headed downstairs, going inside the living room which had a bunch of books on the shelf, a soft sofa, and a table in the middle.
He picked a dark red and a violet-striped book from the shelf and opened it. The Goddess Yueke summoned dozens of angels and called upon her strongest angel and told him to choose one between heaven or earth. The angel had fallen in love with a human, so he told his goddess he would pick earth and live like a human. The doorway opened. "I'm back." Nork closed the book. "Welcome back, Uncle. So what is our dinner tonight?" "Ha, tonight we are gonna eat wyvern meat." "I'm getting hungry." "Go make it, Nork. I'll go take a bath." "Ok, Uncle." "Hmm… tonight dinner gonna be tasty… oh, I need to ask him for permission for going out for adventure too…"
Later, at the wooden dining table, with two plates on the table and meat in each with salads and a cup of water, before they started eating Shiang joined his hands and started praying. Nork followed his way. After praying, both of them started eating with bare hands. While eating—"Uncle Shiang." "Yes, Nork?" "I kinda want to go out for adventure and make a guild and hunt demons down." Shiang paused for a moment. "Are you sure you want to go outside the house and visit all the places in the world? And are you ready to face monsters, demons, giants, corrupted humans? Or if you're unlucky… a pillar?" "Yes, I'm ready. I have already seen worse." Shiang stood up, circled around the table, reached Nork, and put his arm on his shoulder. "Nork, I will allow you, but remember one thing—once you reach A-rank, come back here. I will tell you something very important." "What, Uncle?" "I said when you reach A-rank." "Understood, Uncle." "Now eat as much as you want tonight and sleep." "Ok, Uncle… let's dig in." I can't believe Uncle just accepted, he thought.
The next day, the sun was bright, warmth filled the forest. Nork stood outside the house with a small box in his hand, and Shiang standing beside him. "Here, take this too." A small sack was given to Nork. "Uncle, this is money? I told you already I don't need more than 50 silver coins, why are you giving more?" "Just take it, Nork." "Ok, Uncle, thank you… and Uncle, this box is incredible. I can carry any items here, and it's little smaller than my palm, but it can carry many things. It's called Tera Box." "I see. Now remember, Nork, you're going out for a real adventure. Wear your mother's necklace and don't take it out no matter what, and protect it at all costs." "Ok, Uncle." "Now go, and come back when you're A-rank." "I'll be back by a month." "Keep dreaming. It takes years for a beginner to reach A-rank, and you just reached adulthood, and you don't have real battle experience, nor can you use Astral energy properly." "Enough, Uncle, I'm getting embarrassed." "Bye, Uncle." "Take care of yourself." "I will. Remember to come back."
Slowly, Nork headed to the dark forest and slowly vanished as Shiang was watching him go. "Hmm… I have already killed all the high monsters, so I guess he can safely reach Falkang City." He stared at the sky, which was blue with some clouds. "Nork… I hope you will choose the right path…"
Well, this forest is empty or what? I can't sense a single monster except slimes and some weird-looking monsters with 2 tails and a body like a chicken and a mouth filled with razor teeth. One after another I have been slashing them, but it's not fun cuz they are very weak, but I'll take their Astral cores and exchange them for money. This forest is filled with mushrooms, I guess I'll take them for curry, and these chicken-like monsters will be the special ingredients in my curry. I'm getting hungry… oh, that lake over there is perfect to make a fire. Nork collected some wood and stones and made a fire, and he pulled out the Tera Box and took out some things where he would cook some rice and those mushrooms and monsters. Ok, fire is ready, rice is ready, and curry also done… oh, I need a table, let's see… oh, that tree is perfect. He cut down a tree with a single strike, showing Nork had a good physique, and he cut the tree perfectly in a triangular way and made a table and a seat for himself. Ok, everything is ready, time to eat. Ah, the aroma of this curry… my mouth is drooling… how can someone make something so good like this… he kept praising himself while eating.
But unknown to his mind, he was being watched by someone behind the tree branches. Yeah, it was his Uncle Shiang. "This brat is praising himself too much… instead he should be moving as the city is still far away… but I guess I shouldn't worry…" He stepped down from the tree. "I have already taken care of these monsters." Piles of giant and deadly monster bodies were laid on the ground. "May Goddess Yueke guide your way."
Ok, I'm done eating, I should rest… I should check the map first. He took out a map from the Tera Box and saw the map. Oh, I'm still very far from the city… I guess I should keep moving.
Nork kept walking in the forest which had big trees that covered the sky, he wasn't able to see the sky. He kept walking forward until he saw a road made of bricks. Hmm… I guess I should head south. A crackling voice came from behind. When he turned around, he saw a carriage with two horses and an old man. He stopped and looked at Nork. "Are you heading to Falkang City?" "Yes, I am." "Will you drop me there?" "Yes, I will. It will be 1 silver coin and 2 copper coins." "Ok." Nork handed him the money and sat inside the carriage. He realized he was alone in the carriage. The carriage took him down the road, and he saw the beautiful Falkang City. It was just like his home city, Kuan. After reaching, I'll have to find a hotel to stay and register as an adventurer, and I hope to make friends. "Mr. Yakizo, we have reached our destination." While Nork was planning in his mind, he had already reached Falkang City. He stepped outside the carriage and saw the magnificent gate and walls guarding the city. There were many people, some coming out of the city and some entering the city. He went toward the gate where a fat and bald person was sitting, two knights guarding him and asking identity cards from people who were entering the city. The line was long. Oh, I should take my identity card. Nork waited for 3 and a half hours to finally reach the fat registrator. "So, you're new to Falkang?" "Yes." "Show me your identity card." "Here." Nork gave his card to Gelbre, who was the fat man. "You're from Kuan City? The city that was burned down years ago?" "Uhh… yes." "I heard only a few survived the invasion of Demon General Karzo." "Yes…" "Oh, I'm sorry, it must have been traumatizing to remember that." "It's ok, sir." "You can go, Nork."
He ain't that bad… I thought that Gelbre guy was someone rude, and well, he looked kinda villain. Wow, the city is filled with dozens of markets and houses… now where shall I start searching for a hotel, and after that I need to find the guild to register as an adventurer and receive my rank card. The city was huge, and many roads and carriages going up, down, left, right, people busy in their day. Hmm… it's a huge city, and I don't know where to find the hotel, and this map only shows me the location of the city and forest only. He was getting tired searching until he saw a sign written "Hotel." He looked up. The hotel was up to the 4th floor. Finally, I found the hotel… now let's go. He opened the door and stepped inside. Some people were there, some coming downstairs, some at the dining table drinking and talking. In the middle, a beautiful girl was standing. "Hello, sir." "Hello." "How may I help you?" "Uhh, I want to stay in this hotel for 3 days and 3 nights." "Ok, sir, that will be 1 gold coin and 2 silver coins." "Ok." "And here's the registration card." "Thank you. Sir, your floor is on the 3rd floor and room number 27." Nork took the stairs, and while climbing up he was looking around the hotel. Wow, it's so beautiful… it's my first time visiting a hotel. While he was admiring the hotel, a girl was coming downstairs. She was covering her face and head with a white cloth. She had a symbol on her right-hand glove. Nork was staring at her for a bit until she looked at him. "Uh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare." She just ignored him and walked away. Hmm… I think I saw her somewhere… especially that symbol on her gloves. Nork reached his room and opened the door. Hmm… my room… oh, the window curtains are beautiful, those sapphire crystal designs look great on those curtains. He fell down on the bed. Ahh… so soft… I should rest now… oh shit, I almost forgot, I have to go and register. Nork rushed and headed to the counter and asked the lady where the guild was. After taking the information, he sprinted out, leaving dust trails, and headed towards the east. Phew… finally I reached. Now finally time to be an adventurer and kill demons.
As Nork entered, a huge guy was thrown away to the wall near Nork, cracking the walls. "What is going on here?" The girl he met on the stairs was there, she was beating one more thug, stepping on him. "Don't you dare touch me again, you filthy loser!" The people surrounding were just watching until the two beaten thugs' leader, a tall and muscular man, came. "You little bitch! How dare you attack my men?" "Shut up, gorilla. You're next." Everyone started laughing, even Nork was laughing. "You! Dare call me gorilla? Do you know who I am? I'm the orc slayer, the famous Sir Alcard, a B-rank adventurer, and you dare call me gorilla? You filthy bitch!" With rage, Alcard used his right arm to punch the girl, but she dodged it, and the impact destroyed the floor. "Don't move too much, bitch!" "Stop calling me bitch, you dumb gorilla!" With a smooth flip, she delivered a tornado kick at Alcard's face, pushing him backward, but it was not enough to defeat him. Everyone watching the fight was amazed by the girl's tornado kick, she was like 5'3 whereas Alcard was 6'3, but yet her kick reached his face and pushed him backward. If only she had some more strength, she could have knocked him out. Oh wait, I think I should help her, I guess.
With anger, Alcard used high speed and with a banger punch struck the girl. She used both her arms to block the attack but was pushed away and was thrown to the counter, destroying it as her body crashed. Alcard grinned. "How's that, bitch?" Nork was walking forward to help, but he paused. Not only him, but everyone there paused. Alcard was in shock. The girl stood up. "Come on… why did you stop?" She looked around as everyone was staring at her. She realized her cover had fallen down.
"Nork… she… she… that person from before… she is Princess Vanessa Hugend!"
Everyone was shocked, and Alcard knelt down before her. "Your Highness! I didn't know it was you, please forgive my insolence." She looked at him with an annoyed and worried face, looked around at everyone, and without saying a word she ran out of the guild building. Alcard was shivering with fear, almost pissing his pants. Nork, realizing the symbol he saw was indeed the royal symbol—Princess Vanessa Hugend, daughter of Silvana Hugend, the legendary hero among the six and the strongest human alive, and Empress of the Kaian Empire. Alcard is really in trouble if this reaches the royal palace… but why was Princess Vanessa doing in this guild? It's a mystery… but for now, I need to register.