"Please, Mr. Archie!" Matt prostrated in front of Dio's grandfather.The old man pursed his lips as he stared at the young man bowing his head in front of him. "Why does it have to be Dio?""Dio knows a lot about herbal plants. Aside from the fact that he is the second best when it comes to medicine, he is the only one I could ask to come with me," Matt answered truthfully.Archie turned to look at his grandson who was looking down. It felt like too much of a coincidence that Dio suddenly asked about his opinion on him being an adventurer last week and an adventurer suddenly visited to ask if he could take Dio with him on a mission."Dio. . .""I didn't do anything, Gramps."Archie sighed when he sensed the truth when he looked at Dio's eyes. However, Dio didn't even try to hide his expectant and happy gaze towards Matt."Can you promise to protect Dio?""Even at the cost of my life, Mr. Archie.""Matt!" Dio blurted out of shock. "You don't have to go that far.""It's just proper to a
While Dio was on an adventure with Matt, Archie was preparing something. He was putting the gold bars he collected for more than eight years to a spatial bag. Then he moved to the medicine cabinet and moved the highest quality magic and health potions as well. After putting a couple more items necessary for survival he then entered his room and opened a hidden door under his bed. He opened a chest full of magic crystals and lastly, he took a twin dagger hidden in the chest and moved them all to the bag. He opened his space ring and put the bag in there with a sigh.“This should be enough,” he mumbled as he put the ring on his pinky finger.He went back to the store when he heard a sudden knock.“I hope you’re ready.”“I’ve been waiting for you.” Archie let out a dark smile.“Dio!” Matt called out to the kid who was suddenly attack by a canis. They were just a few meters away from the heart of the forest when a pack of canis attacked them.Matt kicked a small canis who stood on his way
Dio threw the shovel to the side after he finished burying his grandfather’s remains. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed as he stared at his grandfather’s tomb. He played with the ring on his finger, the last thing that his grandfather gave him, as he sighed repeatedly.“Heir apparent.” He sighed after reading the letters carved into the ring. If it was the reason why his grandfather wanted him to live on, then it would be useless. He threw everything away that day and nothing was left for him to live for.He poured mana onto the ring and a magic circle appeared in front of him. He already expected that it would be a space ring, yet his lips curved upwards when he realized that he was right. He peeked at the contents of the dimension storage and he shook his head in disbelief. In the end, his grandfather prepared everything for him to live a good life. It was obvious with the stack of gold and jewelries that he found inside as well as the amount of high-quality potions that he
Dio opened his eyes and he saw the dark sky above him. He looked around and realized that he was still at the alley where the boys left him. He touched his side and felt disappointed when he felt the dried blood but the stab wound was completely healed.His restoration ability was something that he inherited from his mother. It would be hard to kill him unless his heart or brain was crushed or he suffered from too much blood loss that his restoration wouldn’t be able to keep up. Though they can heal and regenerate, they could still feel the pain.“What a lousy bunch. They couldn’t even do a good job of killing me,” he mumbled as he stood up. His stomach grumbled when he smelled the aroma of grilled meat just right outside the alley. He sighed before moving his feet and walked towards the store.“2 chicken skewers, please.” He took out 4 copper coins from his space ring and gave it to the vendor. The vendor gave him his order and he went on his way. Once again, he let his feet walk aim
It took Dio a few more days to collect himself. Knowing fully well that he wouldn’t die easily unless he commit suicide, he decided to just continue what he had been doing-- walking without moving forward. Besides, it wasn’t that bad to comply with his grandfather’s last request: live on.Dio found himself staring at his grandfather’s grave once again. This time, he was neat-looking and well prepped. Unlike the past days when his body hasn’t been washed and covered with sweat, dirt and tears.“Should I go on an adventure?” He stood up and put his hands on his pocket. It was more of a question for himself than to Archie. Dio lost motivation to continue living but he remembered his grandfather’s words.“I need to get moving, Gramps. Please rest in peace.” He bowed in a ninety-degree posture before leaving. As he turned his back on his grave, he felt a pang in his chest. Just the mere thought of leaving the place where he spent his days with his grandfather tore his heart into pieces.He
After jumping off the tree, Dio followed the direction of the voice until she saw a lady who seemed to be the same age as him. She was slowly dragging herself backwards as the basilisk in front of her slowly moved forward.“Help me… Help me… Help me…” The girl continued to mumble.Dio stared at the girl who was no more less than a noble. Her ripped dress looked like something that was used to be on display at the capital’s boutiques, her fair white skin which was touched with shallow cuts probably caused by the branches when she ran, and her red hair with a gray hue signified that she was indeed a noble lady.He shook his head when she saw how the lady’s body trembled in fear but still managed to contain it in front of an S-class beast before he stepped out to show himself.“Excuse me,” he said to catch the attention of the lady as well as the basilisk.The lady probably noticed him since his voice was loud enough to resonate in the area. Her eyes grew wide as she lifted her hands to
After the topic of his light-colored hair, an awkward silence ensued between the two of them as they walked towards the entrance not knowing that a disaster was waiting to fall upon them. Unfortunately, even though the lady basilisk let them go; another one was waiting right around corner. Without making a noise, the smaller basilisk which happened to be the younger brother of the lady basilisk that guarded the mountain bit Dio on his shoulder.“Argh!” Dio groaned in pain when he failed to dodge the surprise attack. He immediately pulled her to the other side to evade the serpent-like beast.Dio held his bleeding shoulder and the lady’s hand trembled in fear as she panicked not knowing what to do. Dio gritted his teeth, the pain coming from the clash between the basilisk’s venom and his healing abilities made him feel wobbly.“W-what should I do?” The lady exclaimed as she tried to wipe Dio’s blood as they ran.“Calm down,” Dio said in a hushed voice as he pulled her to hide behind a
“Uhmm.” The lady fidgeted before she took the courage to hold the hem of Dio’s shirt. “Can I at least know your name? I am Cassandra, the youngest daughter of Duke Riva.”The sun was already up and they were nearing the entrance where the gates were located. Cassandra wanted to know the name of her savior before they depart. She wanted to make sure that she would be able to repay him if ever they would meet again.“My name is Dio, my lady.” Dio looked towards the direction of the western gates where knights were coming back and forth. “Perhaps, did you run away from your knights?”Cassandra blushed as she looked down in embarrassment. “Will you keep it a secret?”Dio nodded. “I guess this is where we depart.” He turned towards the gate to Arnea and started walking but he stopped when Cassandra tugged on his shirt.“T-thank you for saving and protecting me.”Dio looked back and stared at her for a while. “You are quite timid for a noble.”“Do you need a reward? I could arrange for it.”