The Last Chosen Summoner

2| Survival in the City of Exile

Six months later.

Eryk jumped from one rooftop to another as the silver eyes of the moon and a white owl soared high in the dark sky above him without a sound. Rockwool City stretches out like a sharp rock. Many tall, old, and abandoned buildings stick out almost everywhere.

Eryk watched the City. There were towering skyscrapers to the east and west, the endless slanting roofs of the poor districts, and many smoking chimneys in the industrial districts. To the north loomed abandoned flats. The black river is somewhere south. The muddy stream carries the dirt away from the City, but it doesn't make it look clean. Eryk could even smell its stench at that distance.

"But nothing as rotten as the dump I was buried alive in."

Eryk knelt on one of the roofs of a luxury restaurant made of glass plates. His legs were wobbling because the roof of the building was on an inclined plane, and the surface was quite slippery.

Eryk glanced through the glass roof that was hazy with dust and dirt. Downstairs he saw men and women wearing expensive suits sitting opposite each other. They ate while talking and occasionally sipped the red wine. When he saw them munching on the steak, Eryk gulped without realizing it.

Eryk was ready to jump again to go to the roof of the next building. However, the flat soles of his shoes felt slippery against the glass. Until he accidentally slipped and startled many crows perched around there.

The crows lurking for the leftovers behind the restaurant flew away with loud cawing.

At the right moment, Eryk immediately jumped. However, one of the restaurant customers, who was right under the roof where Eryk was standing, looked up as if he had just seen a fleeting shadow disappear.

"Again, he comes to disturb us," said one of the crows, who was perched and startled by Eryk's movement.

"Well, he's coming to snatch our dinner, of course," said the other crow.

Eryk hissed and kicked the crows away. "Take care of your beaks, so you don't say carelessly. I am too honorable to fight over leftovers with you scavengers!" replied Eric.

Since he was dumped into Rockwool City's trash heap and found by a white owl, somehow, Eryk suddenly understood what the birds were saying. He understood the language of birds and could converse with them as if he were conversing with a human.

Eryk jumped again onto a roof with lots of used pots without plants lined up. Eric looked annoyed. Being able to hear the birds talking was tiring. Not only owls but all kinds of birds.

Eryk stopped for a moment on the roof and leaned against one of the clothesline poles that looked broken and rusty. He slowed down to breathe, letting cold air fill his lungs.

Eryk absorbed the sounds of the night. Down below, he heard cars screeching across slippery roads that had just been drenched in the rain. The sound of music blaring in the distance, and he could hear sirens wailing over women's screams farther away.

"Stop, you!" the screams of women were heard right on the street below where Eryk rested. The woman screamed as she continued to run after the figure dressed all in black down there.

Eryk saw everything from where he was. The owl whispered to him. "You don't want to get down there and help her?"

Eryk kept silent without taking his eyes off the woman chasing the man's figure dressed all in black. Eryk doesn't care about all that.

"My place is not down there," muttered Eryk. "There is a place for the Rockwool people. Here, up here, under the sky, is where I am with the beasts of the night."

Eric grinned. He glanced at the white owl beside him, ready to flap its wings again to accompany Eryk's jump. He ran and flipped as he passed the warm blast of the climate control vents, then stopped. The albino owl suddenly stopped and folded its wings again.

Eryk closed his eyes and opened his nostrils wide. He smelled a warm and salty scent that made his stomach rumble with hunger.

"Food!" Eryk muttered quickly when he opened his eyes and looked down there. "You ready to hunt tonight, White?"

The owl just turned its head towards Eryk without blinking. His eyes, which were as dark as night, reflected the image of Eryk's body running to the edge of the roof and peering down.

Far below was a door that opened into an alley filled with trash cans. The alley is right at the back of a fast-food chicken restaurant.

Eryk knows that chicken restaurant very well. They often throw away good food, leftovers, and possibly food that didn't sell that night.

"White, we're going to have chicken tonight." Eric grinned.

Since six months ago, he has been living on the streets as a homeless. He had never really tasted proper food since then. Rockwool is different from other cities. This City is known as the "waste city"—where the poor and the scum of society gather.

"I've never been picky, but if it's my 22nd birthday, I can choose; of course, I want to eat the hot and thick broth. So far, I've only been picking up leftover food from piles of trash, and there's absolutely no soupy food that I can sip on."

"Be careful, Eric!" said the white owl.

Before Eryk jumped down there, he glanced at every dark corner. He didn't see anything to worry about. But down there—at ground level—it's always a risk.

"Land is their place, not mine," thought Eryk.

"But your food is down there," said the owl. "Even I have to dive my wings and beak to get down there and hunt those fat rats," said the owl with a pair of sharp eyes watching the dark street below for the rats' movements.

Something below was moving fast. Eryk and the white owl's focus was caught up on that movement.

"Stay alert," Eryk said to the owl.

Eryk swung a foot over the roof and landed softly on the landing of the fire escape. He was used to doing those complicated things like parkour at high altitudes. Since he was exiled by his grandfather after the death of his parents, Eryk has continued to train his body to divert himself from evil thoughts.

The owl slid to the corner of the roof, looking down the main road. It scratched the iron while on guard.

Eryk knelt down to check his untied shoelaces before sneaking down the stairs. Six months ago, when he first woke up in a pile of trash and was found by the owl, he decided to survive. At first, he thought he was crazy because he could hear and understand what the birds were saying. However, the turning point in life allowed Eryk to survive.

Eryk ducked to avoid the glass window at the restaurant's back door. The smell of the food made his stomach rumble loudly.

The next second, Eryk was standing in front of the trash can. He rummaged through the nearest trash can and found a white and noticeably warm styrofoam box. Eryk opened it and found a partially bitten chicken thigh.

Without thinking, Eryk picked it up and stuffed it in his mouth. He took a big bite of the greasy chicken, which was salty and slightly spicy because of the chili sauce on the side.

"This is delicious, White!" muttered Eryk with his mouth full.

While chewing a piece of chicken in his mouth, Eryk started rummaging through the trash, looking for more leftovers. He stuffed a few more pieces of french fries that he found until Eryk's throat felt full, and he almost choked.

Before he could swallow all the food in his throat, White suddenly swooped down and grabbed Eryk's hand.

"Run!" shouted the owl.

Eric was surprised. He almost choked and couldn't breathe. A pair of eyes opened wide, staring into the alley's darkness. Right in front of him, Eryk saw dozens of bright yellow eyes staring at him.

Eryk's heart jolted as the owners of those eyes stood covering the end of the alley.

"There's no way for you to run!" said one of them.