Chapter 7: Gifts

A house made entirely of brown wood stood at the center of a compound. A makeshift fence 15 inches in height, made of different wood pieces surrounded the house.

This was the house Alex and his parents lived in. There weren't many houses built with bricks or cement in Marko Town, it was a small town after all and most of the houses were made by the occupants themselves.

Compared to other houses, Lucius' house was a paradise. It had a clean lawn surrounding its sides and a few shady trees and a little garden by the corner. The house looked strangely magnificent and out of place in Marko Town.

Alex sat on the lawn, leaning on one of the trees. It was getting to evening which made the air a bit cool. He stared into oblivion recollecting the events of the day. It had always been a habit of his.

'Today was one hell of a ride. I got my ass kicked by a girl. Haha,' Alex thought with a self-deprecating laughter.

'well, at least I'll be joining an Academy so it isn't an all-round loss' Alex sighed and breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh air in the environment.

He loved the environment, it was calm, and peaceful and brought him closer to nature. The only thing he felt bad for not having, was someone his age to talk to or a pet even.

No matter how much he loves the quiet, he would be lying if he said he didn't feel lonely at times.

Alex suddenly heard the sound of the wooden door creaking open. He looked at the house and saw his dad coming towards him. His hands were clasped at his back, the sun shining on his red hair making it glow a bit.

Lucius had a smile on his face that parted his lips, slightly displaying his pearly white teeth. If Alex didn't know better he would have thought his Dad was some elegant, majestic King. There was this graciousness and charm in the way he did things.

Not wanting his dad to one-up him in the charms department, Alex shook those thoughts away.

"Why are you smiling like a monkey that just discovered a bunch of bananas, Dad?"

"Haha, for someone who got his ass handed to him, you sure have jokes. Ah! A monkey can never compare to my grandeur and magnificence," Lucius comically replied.

"Don't mind this father of yours, you did marvelously well, my dear!" Amaya who was some distance away said as she walked towards the duo.

"Thanks, Mom," Alex said.

The husband and wife stood before their son until Lucius broke the silence. He grinned at Alex

"We come bearing gifts,"

Alex looked at the both of them with raised brows.

"Uh...I don't see any gifts. Don't tell me you hid them in your pants." Alex replied.

"Hahaha...now why would I do that? Don't be silly, son. Anyway, ladies first, so let your mom go ahead."

"Alright then," Amaya said with a smile. "I've got something special for you"

There was a black ring on her left index finger, it had a bluish-black crystal at its top with several weird drawings etched on it. She took it off and handed it to Alex.

Alex stood up from the lawn and collected the ring, he looked down at it with a curious gaze.

"Mom, what's this? I know it's a ring but I've never seen any like it"

"That ring is called a storage ring. Just like the name implies, its purpose is to store objects and materials" Amaya explained.

"Wow, thanks a lot, Mom!" Alex smiled and jumped into his mother's embrace.

"Don't thank me yet, the main gift is inside the storage ring"

Lucius and Amaya explained to Alex how to use the ring. It was a simple and basic process. All one had to do was send their intent to the ring, and then they'd be able to see its contents.

A storage ring has a summoning function that is to be used when one wants to take out an object from the ring and this function is connected to the will of the bearer of the ring. The same was the case if one wanted to store an object inside the ring.

After the explanation, Alex tried out the process and he was amazed by what was inside the ring.

"Those are gifts from your dad and I. Since you would be joining an Academy, you'd need what is in there. Life in an Academy is not as dreamy as it sounds but I know, we know, you'll do great" Amaya said.

Inside the ring were a few books with techniques and teachings for crafting and forging. Then there were blue coins, hundreds of them probably. Alex didn't bother to count them as his attention was drawn to something else inside the ring.

He willed it forth and in his hand appeared a pendant. It was pitch black and at the end was a graven little book that was attached to it. Looking closely, Alex could see red engravings of a strange creature that had bat-like wings. He couldn't make sense of the rest of the engravings.

"What's this one?" Alex asked inquiring about the pendant.

"Oh, that. It's a family heirloom that was passed down to me and now it's yours. It's nothing special but do cherish it, you know, although it wasn't made by me, the craftsmanship is something I've never seen before," Lucius replied.

"Speaking of excellent crafting. I made this for you."

Lucius released his hands that were clasped at his back revealing a katana sword in its scabbard and handed it to Alex.

Alex held the sword with both hands, his eyes gleaming with joy. He unsheathed the sword revealing a lustrous steel blade. Alex could feel the slight energy it radiated. It wasn't an ordinary sword.

"You like it?" His dad asked grinning already. Alex nodded but his eyes remained glued to the blade.

"It's an azure-grade basic weapon of light weight, as such, it focuses on speed, sharpness and nimbleness." Lucius explained.

Alex ran his fingers on its surface, feeling the cold steel. He did a quick slash and the sound of the blade cutting air was heard. slowly placing the sword back in its scabbard, Alex smiled happily at his parents.

"Mom, Dad, thank you so much. You guys are the best. I promise to make both of you proud in the Academy"

The trio embraced each other under the shade of the tree as a gentle wind passed by. He would miss them, with them around everything seemed easy and went smoothly.