“That was rude,” Arisa commented as soon as they were out of their sight. “Do I need to be polite around them?” Kane looked at her blankly. He felt sorry that she was the one receiving the effects of his unstable emotion so he looked away. “Just leave me alone.” “Hey, this is just a piece of friendly advice since you grew up from abroad. Those people were children of influential families. It would do you no good if you get to their bad side so if you don’t want to be polite, then you shouldn’t be rude towards them in the very least.” Arisa sighed when he just clicked his tongue and walked faster. He did not even know that his friends were children of influential families. Was he someone like that too? Kane shook his head. If he was someone from an influential family, he would not be living alone. If he had such a family, Erin would not be the one to know about his secret. He was no longer the Kane that they knew. He was now Kane Silva. He did not need to be friendly toward them. E
Kane was panting as he pulled the dagger from the soil. The sun was already setting when he finished two vast farming lands, but there were four more waiting for him. He dropped his body on the now fertile soil as he tried to catch his breath.“Master said that you should rest for now.” Arisa handed him a bottle of water. “You looked so tired.”She laughed as she offered her hand to help him sit up. She sat beside him as the guy downed the water in just one go.“Want to have some more?” She asked as soon as he finished and closed the cap of the now empty bottle.“No, thanks. I’m good.” Kane stood up and it was his turn to offer his hand and help her up. He walked ahead of her as soon as she stood so Arisa laughed.“Kane, Arisa! Join us for dinner,” Xander invited them when he saw the two walking back from the farming lands.“You can eat first, I need to replenish my mana,” Kane told Arisa as he walked past Xander and Erin who watched him pass by with a curious and confused expression.
“Hi, sorry for the intrusion.” Arisa laughed as she entered the room. Her bag was on her shoulder and she was already wearing her pajamas when she arrived.“No, don’t say that. I was actually glad that you agree to share this room with me. I don’t think I would be at peace in an unfamiliar place with no one to be with.”Arisa looked at Erin with admiration. She did not know that someone as influential as her could be bothered by being alone in an unfamiliar place.“I’m used to having someone stay with me in unfamiliar places.” Erin smiled shyly. “Every time our family goes on a vacation, my youngest brother would always go to my room and ask if he could sleep with me. Since then, I always have him stay by my side.”“How old was your brother?”“He’s thirteen now.” Erin laughed. “Funny, right? Soon enough, he’ll stop sleeping with me on our vacation trips because he would be an adult by then.”“You must really love your brothers.” Arisa smiled. “I think we’re similar in that way. I love
Kane’s popularity rose after that night and girls started flocking around him despite his indifferent personality. It was the same for Arisa, but she was fortunate because the men from the university were not the type to chase after someone they admired.“Kane, are you going to the barren lands to purify them again today?” A girl asked as soon as he was out of the village chief’s house.He just looked at the girl with a blank expression before he walked past her. Why would he waste his time talking to those people who only noticed him after making an achievement? They were worse than those other girls who noticed him for his looks.“Are you sure you want to ignore them? Those girls were pretty and you won’t be able to find someone as pretty as them in the southwest region,” Arisa teased him while wiggling her brows.“Then why don’t you mingle with them yourself?” Kane looked at her with one of hi
“Have you seen him walk out of the Village Chief’s house?” One of the girls giggled as they watched Kane walk towards the farming lands. Because of his performance last night, most of their schoolmates were eyeing him. The treatment of him from being a normal guy to a celebrity had shifted overnight.“Kane, what was that for?” A sweet yet strong voice came from inside the house and soon enough, the angelic lady was seen storming out of the house.“There goes the heroine.”“She’s the only girl that Kane was not ignoring.”“How envious!”“Though Kane was not that sweet and accommodating, I’ll be fine as long as he would talk to me.”Erin could somehow relate to those girls. Towards everyone who tried to approach Kane, his expression had always been the same. He always let out a bored look on his face every time a woman approached him. But it was different with Arisa. Even if he wore his infamous blank expression, he always had a gentle vibe around him every time he was with her.“You ca
Kane was once again catching his breath as he pulled the dagger from the ground. After the days he spent pouring mana on the village’s vast barren lands, he was finally finished. He dropped his body to the healthy ground and closed his eyes.The sky looked like it was on fire with its golden orange color with a touch of pink and purple. The golden sun and the half-moon were in the same sky though the latter was not too obvious yet.It was so beautiful and it was the first time that he got the chance to admire such a scene. Just looking at it made him feel calm and at peace. His breathing started to grow calmer and stabilized until he was no longer panting.“What are you doing there? You’re no longer tired so why don’t you go back now?” Arisa asked as soon as she reached Kane’s location. Behind her were Erin and Xander whom she spent the last days with.Kane looked at the three with a blank expression. Just how on earth
Kane still had his blank expression while the other three showed a shocked expression as soon as they heard what the instructors had to say.Emergency dungeons were dungeons that suddenly opened out of nowhere and those kinds of dungeons had unknown levels. Such dungeons could cause a leak if not cleared for the next 24 hours. Because of those conditions, it had been the DME’s protocol to assign hunters who could enter such dungeons and clear them within the timeframe. Usually, the DME would call for S-Classes from the closest branch of the hunters’ guild in the area to deal with it immediately.Why were they chosen? Only Gustav was registered as an S-Class hunter. On top of that, all of them were not even in their 20’s yet and two of them just finished training a few days ago. How could they send the younger and inexperienced hunters to take care of an emergency dungeon?“I understand you calling for me, but why would you send these people? Xander and Arisa were both A-Class hunters
After one hour, the four once again gathered in the receiving room where the instructors, professors, and even Viktor were waiting. Arisa noticed that there were two new faces and she immediately concluded that those two were the S-Classes that their master was talking about.“Master, our juniors were the girl and that blank-faced guy, right?” The man said with a smile on his face. He seemed to be in his early 30s and the woman beside him seemed to be around his age as well.“We can tell just by looking at their tired faces.” The woman smiled as she looked at Arisa whose brows raised as she looked at Kane.Arisa could not find the tired that the woman was saying when she looked at Kane. His face was still glowing and still handsome as ever. How could they even tell that he had a tired face?“Are we going or not?” Gustav butted in. He did not like how the people were giving their attention to Kane when he was technically the weakest among them. Why would they even notice a weakling lik
Dio decided to spend his last day in Arnea City in a very productive way-- to stay inside his room and sleep for a day. He was set to do it though Blur had been whining to go around the city before they leave.He had no choice but to go with Blur or else, he would keep chanting on his head. His hands were inside his pocket while blur was on to of his head as they strode along the market streets.‘Are you having fun?’ He asked his bond through telepathy.‘I think it would be more fun if I could eat some meat.’Dio could imagine his bond grinning from ear to ear when he entered a tavern. “Please give me 4 sets of meat dishes. Just pick the best selling ones.”‘Dio, are you rich?’ Blur’s voice sounded excited as he looked around.‘Maybe? My grandfather left me a lot of money.’He rested his head on the table and closed his eyes. He just wanted a peaceful sleep but he was being push around by a pet. Since when did he become a pushover?‘I’m not your pet.’“Yeah. Whatever,” he mumbled agai
“Dio. . .”The voice that he knew so much called out to him. He smiled as he held his mother’s hand and gently tugged her dress. “Mother, I saw a very beautiful flower over there!”His mother let out a soft laugh before following his lead. They stopped at the corner of the garden then the he pointed at the budding flower.“Look at how small it is, mother!” He was delighted to show it to her and he was happier when her mother tousled his hair.“It’s a beautiful budding flower, just like Dio.” His mother gave him a gentle smile.His brows furrowed in curiosity. “Like me?”His mother nodded. “Just like Dio, this flower will grow to be amazing.”“Will I be someone amazing when I grow up, Mother?”“Of course. Dio was born to be someone strong and amazing, after all.” His mother gently touched his cheek. “Will you promise me that you’ll be someone whom the weak can depend on?”He smiled cheerfully. “Of course, Mother. I’ll grow strong to be someone who will take the side of the weak and not
“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.”
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
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
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
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
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
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