It's a normal Saturday noon. I finished all the things I usually do, and I am currently heading to the grocery store to replenish the food on my fridge. My name is Jin Hale, a normal employee though my office friends always told me that I am a lazy but capable person, which is true.
I do all things in the easiest way even it seems weird from the perspective of my surrounding. But I don't care, the important is I finished everything as soon as possible and enjoy the rest of the time and laze around.
I arrived at the grocery store and was surprised that it was rowdy. Though I already figure that many people will gather here but it still surprises me. They are falling in line at the front door of the store.
I look around and saw a banner with the inscription "50% off for all the goods". That's nice because the food I can buy will be double in quantity.
I walk towards the third person standing from the store door.
"Yo, good job falling in line and now you're almost near the door." I said while smiling.
"Jin, my feet hurt due to standing for too long."
"I know, that's why I come here so you can go home now. Thanks!" Jin
My co-worker sighs. I already know that today will be the sale day three days ago and asked my co-worker to fall in line for me before the store opens.
I just asked my co-worker to return the favor. When something bad happens or my co-worker cannot finish their workload, they always ask for my help. And of course, I will gladly help and told them to return the favor when I need it.
Today is one of them.
Once I'm done with my groceries. I decided to go home.
After I open the door and proceed to my house, all hair on my nape suddenly stands up. Four people robbing my house, each of them wearing a full head mask.
Once they notice my presence, they point their gun toward my location.
I instinctively raised my hand.
"Wha-at a-re.." I stuttered due to my shock.
"Give me your money!!" Said one of them while slowly walking toward me.
I don't know what to say, this is my first time experiencing this.
"I said give me your money!!"
"Ye-s! Yes! Here, just take everything you need and leave me alone" Though I was nervous, I tried to calm myself and hope that I can live another day if I let them take everything they want. As long as they don't kill me, it's okay.
I give them the money I have in my wallet.
"Do you have jewelry?!"
"I don't have any jewelry, but I have my wristwatch, just beside the fridge." I told them honestly
"Good, listen to us if you want to live!"
Yes, yes. Now take it and get out and cursed them on my mind.
"Is there any money in your drawer?"
"None." I told them honestly. It's better to say the truth in a short response.
"None?!" One of them said in anger
"Yes. I have no more cash on my wallet, here look." I told them honestly.
"Don't lie to us now or we will kill you!!!"
Damn it! They're not sober at all. Their eyes are colored red and angrily glaring at me. They don't smell drunk, so they probably use the drug.
Suddenly, we heard a siren not too far away from my apartment which made everyone inside exclaim with surprise. This is bad, this is really bad.
"Damn you! You called the cops?!"
"Let's kill him now!"
What?! Kill me? Me? I did not call the cops! Fuck!
"No. No! I didn't call the cops, maybe they're just passing by, please don't!" I said and this time I started to feel really nervous
Though I know self-defense and swordsmanship since I studied them when I was in Senior High. They still have a gun, and I don't have anything on me besides my wallet and a plastic bag full of food.
"Shut up! If we kill him, the cops can hear a gunshot!"
"No, it's already too late, we either get arrested or be killed by the cops. Let's bring him down with us!!"
What the fuck are you talking about?! I started to curse them in my head/
"No, please don't. I really didn't call the cops. Here, take my wallet, my food, and other things in my drawer. They still have value, just don't kill me."
My hand started to shake, this is unfair, four versus one and the funny thing is each of them has a gun and they are under some unknown drug. How can I survive if they all lose reason?
"No! Let's beat him to death, maybe the cops are just passing by and if we kill him with our gun, the cops will probably hear it. While if we beat him, they will not notice!"
"Yeah! Let's do that one!"
"Damn you! You did it to yourself so don't blame us. I don't care anymore if you really called the cops or not!"
Damn it! Why?!! I just want to live a lazy and peaceful life! I didn't harm anyone, all the favor I asked for from my co-worker cannot be called inhuman. I just order them an errand for me when I need something.
They started to run in my direction. I picked up the bag full of food beside me and throw it at them. one of them got out of balance because that bag is heavy.
I started to form a stance for self-defense I learned. He throws a punch at me and when his punch are close to my face, I jumped backward which resulted in him getting out of balanced.
This is my chance now, I run towards the door and when it slightly opens, two gunshot rings in my ears, and in a split second I feel pain on my back and hot liquid pouring down on my lower body.
I look in their direction and saw the two-man aiming their gun at me.
I fell to my knees and tried to reach for the source of the pain.
Fuck!! Why did this happen! It is fucking hurts!
I started to feel cold, and my eyes is getting heavy. As I tried to lean on the wall, blood started oozing from my mouth.
I want to curse them out loud, but my mouth only opens and no voice comes out.
The pain is getting worse.
Then I heard the cop siren in front of my apartment and shift my gaze to four fuckers. They started to panic.
I can't feel the hot liquid anymore, the pain is starting to fade away together with my vision.
"Fuck!" was the last word I uttered on earth.
I feel something poking on my left cheek. I tried to open my eyes, but I feel it heavy. I felt again the poking on my cheek. "What?! I'm sleeping! Don't disturb me!" I said angrily. If you want to anger a lazy man, go disturb their sleep. "Do you want power?" I open my eyes and start to focus on the source of the sound, but I don't see anything. I tried to feel my hands and rub my eyes, and yet I can't feel my hands. I started to panic and started to look around but all I can see is dark and nothing else. I know it's useless, but I still tried to get up and as expected. I can't even feel my whole body. "Do you want power?" I shift again my gaze to the source but for real, I don't see anything. "Do you want power?" I started to bombard a question. "Who are you and where are you? Why it's dark here. Wait what am I doing here. Ughhh" I feel a throbbing pain in my head "Do you want power?" What? Power? "Answer my question first!" I started to get angry and anxious besides bein
The moment my eyes opened, countless of information bombarded my brain and I started to clearly understand the power and knowledge that the old man was talking about earlier. I get up and carefully inspect my surroundings. Good, I think there's no one around. I feel hungry but I want to try my power first. Doing this will ensure my safety for the time being. According to the knowledge transferred to me. This world is rich with magic energy which is called Mana. The air itself is filled with mana. There are two different mana, one can be absorbed in nature and the other can be granted by a demon king. The latter is called dark mana. Only the demon king can grant mana, no one knows why. Even the memory of an old man who gave me power has no information regarding that matter. I don't want to know either, it's just a hassle. Going back, only 1 out of 100 persons have the capacity to learn and absorbed mana. Humans born with the capacity to learn magic have a magic core inside them.
As expected, houses are made of wood. The plaza and the mayor's house are the exceptions and only a few houses are built in stone. This village is called Yorel as it's located in the great forest of Yorel Elena and Captain Klein along with two soldiers stand on the Plaza and give her speech that the Kingdom has prepared houses for the relocation and there are also jobs waiting for them. The villagers cheers with joy as they heard the news. Elena walks towards our location and asks Castor to lead the direction to the mayor's house. The living area is clean and neat. As expected, the technology of this age is the same as Earth in the Late Modern Era. "Sir Jin, if you are exhausted, please feel free to rest as you are treated as a guest, not a guard." Elena "Thank you but I'm not tired. Honestly, can I ask you a question?" Jin "Sure, I will answer your question," Elena said while smiling "What is the name of your Kingdom?" Jin I'm curious about the name of the kingdom. I already
Morning came, and everyone departed from the village. Though we have a long march ahead since all of us use carriages and horses, we will soon be at our destination. Inside the carriage, I'm currently sitting in front of Elena. "Lady Elena, I've been meaning to ask. May I know besides being a soldier, are there any jobs I can get?" Jin "Hmm, yes. There are a lot of different guilds currently operating in the Narva Kingdom. But the most famous is Adventurers Guild and Merchant Guild." Elena "I see. May I know what adventurers guild do?" Jin "They usually hunt demons." Elena "Since job in Adventurers guild is extremely dangerous. Beginners are usually trained by the guild during their first day. Once they passed the training, they will be officially registered and will be given an ID. They can also pay an extra gold coin to get a mentor. The mentor is usually within the top 50 in the guild, so the pay is considerably high. But decision-wise, it's good since the mentor will come al
After some time, we saw the majestic view of Narva Kingdom. "That is the Narva Kingdom, the capital is called Lithe." Elena happily introduced the kingdom I think the wall surrounding the city is 50 meters high. From here you can see a sturdy gigantic wooden gate on the entrance with two towers on each side which housed many soldiers. One can say it's served as a watchtower. Apparently, there are 3 gates in the kingdom with two towers on each gate that faced three nations surrounding the Kingdom. They are called North Gate faced the Fyn Kingdom, South Gate faced on Ruel Empire and West Gate faced the Vitalis Kingdom. There is no gate that faced the Great Forest of Yorel since the road from there intersected on the road on South Gate. "Mr. Jin, I'm still amazed how you defeat that demon bear in just three seconds," Elena said happily "Lady Elena, you can just call me by my name. No need to address me in that way." Jin awkwardly said. "If that's what you wish, then Jin. With yo
Curiosity can kill a cat. Elena was always thought by her father not to put her nose too much into everyone's problems. I followed my father's teaching. I always keep a proper distance to avoid unnecessary attention that can bring danger to myself or my family. But I can't help to investigate the background of Jin. He's powerful enough to kill the demon bear in mere three seconds. Demon bears can be killed by 5 knights alone in the past but due to sudden changes and the rampaging of demons, they become powerful that it takes almost 15 knights to kill them. But Jin alone can easily kill it. The swordsmanship the way he fights is normal. All knights know that kind of move. What amazed me most is his power. Did he imbue magic on his sword to kill the demon bear? No, it's impossible but if he did, everyone including me should notice it beside his sword will shine slightly. And he didn't say any chant so it's impossible. But when I asked the magicians and Captain Klein about it, the
A noble should show very fine or admirable qualities. That very characteristic defines Earl Albert Haynes, the father of Elena. Once we arrived at the castle of Earl Haynes. Elena briefed his father about what happened from the start of our encounter until our return to Lithe City. She also mentioned that I will be her guard and study with her at Riverdale Elite Academy. Marquess Albert stares at me for God knows how long. Once they are done talking, Elena proceeds to her room to rest. And here I am, receiving a deathly glare from knights. Apparently, after Earl Albert introduced himself, he ordered me to instantly train with the Falcon Knight without questioning any details told by her daughter. The reason for the deathly glare? Imagine applying for a scholarship to a high-end university, you grind yourself to study and hoping to pass the test when suddenly, the son of a powerful individual who is also a sponsor of the said university wants his son or daughter to get the schola
They said a battle or duel between swordsman means a lot. It's because the skills they practiced are at stake. Which I agreed. On earth, I bleed and sweat to reach the top in swordsmanship. Today's match is an opportunity to show it. And when I say opportunity, there is no way I will show any slightest hesitation. Luckily, I only fell asleep for almost 2 hours. After a bit of lazing around and strategizing, I headed to the training room. The castle of Albert Haynes has its own colosseum. The audience is the majority of Knights and Soldiers. There are also those vassal families of Albert Haynes. A noble below Earl status. They are seated in the VIP room while the main family of Haynes is seated in the most elegant VIP room. A lot of commotion is currently happening on the public seat on the colosseum. They make a bet on who will win this match. Of course, all the Knights are in favor of Vice-Captain Leo while the soldier led by Chief Soldier Klein favors me. I think Chief Kl