Dear boy,
I hope this letter finds you well. If you're reading this, chances are I've departed from this world. Otherwise, I would have taken back this letter without you even noticing it. You need to improve your perception, boi! It was way too easy to slip inside your dougi without you realising it.
Do forgive my horrible handwriting as I lack time. You're probably wondering why I had prepared such a letter for you. The hedgehog had brought me a letter from the Elementalist, stating that a certain infamous assassin was seen wandering around the city recently. You're probably not aware of the massacre of the Hawthorns that was ordered by the Queen of the City Of Pines. Call me paranoid, but I needed to make sure that you made it safely to the city.
If anything were to happen to me, don't seek revenge. Live your life to the fullest. I've already lived a ripe old age with no regrets. Now is your time to explore this world instead. Make your parents proud.
Your one and only,
Ojii-san
PS: Do not expose your Hawthorn name. Forgive me as it left my mind that I should have informed you earlier before you left.
PPS: If you are in need of more money, you know where to find them.
PPPS: Burn my secret books, please. DON'T READ THEM!!
***
W— what's with the content of this letter? Was he expecting the worst? Who is this "infamous assassin" that would make Grandfather prepare such a letter in advance? When did he even slip this inside my dougi? Who is this "Elementalist" that he's referring to? Damn it, so many questions but not a single answer.
I crunched the letter as I gripped my fingers tightly. Tears were forming around the edges of my eyes as my emotions got the better of me.
Damn it, just— damn it. Grandfather, this is not the farewell that I've envisioned for you. How can I bring myself to let you go while being oblivious to your fate? You were the one who raised me and you're literally my only family member in this world.
No, there's just no way that I can let it go. I need to know who this infamous assassin is and I'm counting on tomorrow to get some answers to your fate.
***
There were still a couple of hours before dawn arrived after I freshened myself up. I lay on the bed and wiped off the newly formed tears. I wondered if I could actually catch some shut-eye when I'm feeling this distraught, as though someone is tugging on the strings of my heart. I gripped my chest and closed my eyes without blowing out the candles as I wasn't expecting to sleep.
But as it turns out, I somehow did as I had a strange dream. A white, blueish horse appeared in front of me, albeit looking all blurry. I couldn't focus my vision no matter how hard I tried. It was trying to talk to me, but the sound was extremely muffled. Seemingly confused on what to do further, I decided to just ask it what it wanted.
"Are you trying to talk to me? Who are you? Do I know you?" I asked.
All I heard were muffled noises replying to me.
"What are you?" I asked louder.
Once again, muffled mumbling noises replied to me.
"What do you want?!" I shouted as I got fed up with what it wanted from me.
"WAKE UP!" those loud words resounded in my mind, which forced me awake and sit up abruptly. What the hell was that dream? Why did it feel so... real? Just as I was recollecting myself, a knock could be heard outside my door.
"Zen, you awake? We're heading downstairs for breakfast now," spoke a voice that sounded like Lily's.
I replied to her with an "Okay" and dragged myself out of bed. Ugh, my head is pounding. Fairly certain I hadn't drank any alcohol for me to feel like this, and I doubt the innkeeper would actually serve that to minors in the first place. I made my way to wash my face using the basin provided and got ready to head downstairs.
I grabbed Inazuma and instinctively dropped it. Ouch, what—was that? Did it just shock me? I approached closer to Inazuma slowly, which was on the floor, poking it a couple of times with my index finger to be safe. Alright, no more shocks. That was odd; why did it even electrocute me in the first place?
Pushing that thought aside, I made my way downstairs and had breakfast with John and Lily. Once again, Lily paid for our meals. I really need to get my coins sorted as soon as possible. And once again, they left leftovers on their plates, and I held back from reprimanding them. Emphasis on tried, really hard!
Alright, now that we have food, let's focus on the main objective today. What I need to do is meet up with Rick and head to the designated location where Grandfather was. Right, let's go.
***
We arrived at the southern entrance where Rick and his party were already waiting. Rick noticed us approaching and waved.
"So, ready to go? Let's get this done before noon approaches," he said.
"Sure, lead the way," I replied as I flicked the gold coin to him, which he caught smoothly with his hand. I'm so close to finding out what had happened to Grandfather. Everything will unveil soon.
So began our short journey where we quickly reached by mid-morning. Nothing interesting occurred along the way, which built up my suspense further with every step. So near yet so far.
Huh? What's—going on? Why are there so many bunched-up people up ahead? That seems to be the location where Grandfather was fighting with the stranger.
Cold sweats began to form at the back of my neck, and I just couldn't wait any longer. I ran as fast as I could towards the crowd, pushing aside a whole bunch of annoying adult legs as they were crowding up the whole area.
Oh Lord, what in the world happened here? There's blood—everywhere. Parts of the landscape were crumbling apart with deep grooves in multiple places on the ground, and the surrounding trees were shattered or horribly destroyed. I hope these are not grandfather's blood but that damn assassin instead.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. A distracted mind will only serve to hide the truth from you. Follow the evidence that's present here, and you'll figure out what happened. A couple more deep breaths, and I opened my eyes, examining the surroundings as best I could. Let's see, there are bloodstains at several locations, and judging from the direction of the splatter, it would seem that both of them were wounded. Based on the visible footprints, it would appear that they had proceeded deeper into the forest. Alright, let's go. Or that was what I thought when I was suddenly lifted into the air.
"Hey! No stepping onto the scene! Who let this kid in?!" shouted the soldier.
He lifted me up by my dougi. I don't have time to entertain this soldier. The fate of my grandfather is inside the forest, damn it! I turned my head towards the soldier and glared at him. And guess who it was, it's Earl.
"Please put me down. I'm investigating what happened to my grandfather," I told Earl. Seems like he didn't take it well.
"Oh lookie here, we've got a detective in the midst. Listen here, Sherlock, if children were to start running the world, then adults would be shaking their legs at home. Go play with a ball or something. We're busy investigating here," scolded Earl as he tossed me to the ground. Ouch! Damn it, Earl! You'll pay for that!
"Woah woah… calm down there, Mister Soldier," Rick rushed over to ease the situation.
He placed his arm around Earl's shoulder and began whispering something to him as they turned their backs towards me. I attempted to pull myself up, but John lifted me immediately by the arm. Why does it seem as though I weigh nothing? Even John can drag or pull me around without so much as batting an eye. And he's around my height and size! I admit that I'm small-framed and perhaps a little underweight, but I am not that light.
After some whispering, it seemed that Rick and Earl had come to an agreement. Probably involving some bribing along the way.
"Alright, alright, fine. You can follow me into the forest. Touch nothing and don't step on any evidence!" shouted Earl as he gestured us to follow after him. Good going, Rick. I knew I could count on you.
We headed into the forest following Earl, making sure to avoid the blood splatters on the ground. There was less evidence of blood as we headed deeper into the forest, which I'm taking as good news. The less there is, the better, I thought to myself.
We reached a site where trees were pushed aside, shaping a clearing in the middle. This must be where they continued fighting. A couple of soldiers crouched all over the place as they were searching for something. It was then a soldier rushed towards Earl in a hurry, holding something wrapped in a white cloth. My heart began thumping faster as fear and anticipation engulfed me.
***
*Lily's Perspective*
Zen appears to be getting restless as we headed closer to the site. He ran towards the crowd with the exact same speed that he used to save me previously. I somehow doubt there aren't many adventurers who could match his speed despite his age, and I'm relatively sure that he's not aware of it himself.
From what he told us before, he had literally spent all his life in the forbidden forest with his grandfather, and that had caged him from knowledge of the outside world. He will need to learn more if he wishes to survive without me. Perhaps… perhaps I can tutor him. We can meet up and I can teach him about the value of currencies, languages, and the different races of this world. Maybe I can teach him a thing or two about women too. He acted so cute when I hugged him yesterday. His face was flushed when he pushed me away after he asked that question. What am I saying, I'm sure I was blushing myself too.
Hang on, what am I even thinking?! Begone, filthy thoughts! I waved my hands above my head to shoo all those thoughts away. Now is not the time to be getting giddy. He's a human, and I shouldn't be focusing on him. Who wants to be hung over someone who's shorter than me anyway? Not to mention he's way younger than me. And—he's human. Just a century, and he'll be gone from my life. All these things I'm experiencing will eventually be nothing but a mere memory. My two first friends, and they won't be with me for long. It—hurts just thinking of it. Sigh.
Huh? What… hey! Put Zen down! Did you seriously just throw him to the ground?! Alright, that's it. Now I'm angry. You're lucky that John is holding me back. Just you wait, Earl! Your time will come.
Now, what are they whispering about? Oh, it would seem that they had reached an agreement. Way to go, Rick. I knew we could count on you.
We headed into the forest after Rick gave Earl some money. Even with all their whispering, I could hear exactly what was said. I guess since Rick had received a gold coin, spending a little to bribe Earl is a small matter.
We stopped at what a scene that was— rather horrifying. Lots of blood splattered all over the area. Not to mention the destruction here could only be described as having two giant monsters fighting with each other.
The soldiers around were chatting among themselves as they were searching for something. It would seem as though they have no idea who this belongs to? An item perhaps? Or something else?
A soldier walked up to Earl, holding something wrapped in a white cloth filled with blood stains. Earl took a peek and sighed, then he glanced at Zen with squinting eyes. Is he in a dilemma about whether he should show Zen what's underneath the cloth? Oh, it would seem like he's gonna show him. Wait, what is that? Is that… a hand? Cut right above the wrist too. Ugh, that's gotta hurt to be dismembered like that.
That's— odd. Is it just me, or is the air getting colder? I can feel cold air enveloping me and my hair at the back of my neck is starting to stand for some reason. What's going on? Why is there such a drastic shift in temperature?
I quickly looked around and everyone seems to be fixated on Zen. Everyone, even John, is glaring at him with their hands gripping the hilt of their sword. Wait, why? What did Zen even do?! Why does everyone want to attack him?!
I wanted to call out to warn him but I quickly understood why everyone was behaving this way. He was emitting a rather dark aura and it was much worse compared to the playful one that the innkeeper emitted. This felt sinister and I can't shake the thought that he's gonna kill everyone here. My legs and hands started to shiver now and cold mist began to form as I exhaled. What—should I do? If I don't do something, everyone is going to kill Zen or he might end up killing all of us instead.
***
*Zen's Perspective*
I lifted the cloth, expecting a head of someone. I was totally prepared for the worst outcome when I saw Earl's reaction when he took a peek. Yet, I severely underestimated the situation. The moment I saw that hand, something snapped inside me. I knew whose hand it was the moment I saw it. It belonged to my grandfather. Those wrinkles gave it away, along with a birthmark that I had noticed a long time ago. My vision began to turn blurry as dark thoughts filled my head. I lost control, and something—something took over. Screams filled my thoughts, demanding blood, demanding me to kill. I must kill whoever did this. I need to kill him. I—NEED—BLOOD...
"ZEN!!!!"
That voice snapped me back to reality. I shook my head to recollect myself as all the screams had died off. I glanced around and noticed that Earl was no longer in front of me. He had moved some distance away with his sword at the ready. That's—odd, I swore that he was right in front of me moments ago. What happened? And why is he pointing his sword at me? I continued to check my surroundings, wondering what the others were doing. Huh? Everyone else is holding their weapons at the ready too! And they're glaring at me!
"Uhh— what's going on?" I asked all of them as I raised my eyebrow.
Everyone tensed down after I spoke. Did something happen earlier that made them point their weapons at me? Hell, even John followed their actions too! I trusted you, thought you were my friend. *sniff sniff*
Lily ran towards me and stared directly at my face with an angry expression. She was pouting and it seemed that she wanted to scold me. On second thought, she is gonna scold me.
"What the hell was that?! Why did you do that?!" shouted Lily.
"W—what are you talking about? I didn't do anything. I was just staring at the hand," I explained.
"You were doing some mumbo jumbo thingy that made everyone freak out! Everyone almost attacked you out of fear, Zen!" she continued.
Goodness, she can be loud and noisy when she gets angry.
"No kidding, I had cold sweats thinking about it. See, my hands are still shaking right now. That was some crazy murderous intent, Zen," John laughed dryly.
Murder intent? I released that when I lost myself?
"You're really something else, kid. To be able to use "that" without even realising it. Hell, not even experienced adventurers can use that effectively in combat," chuckled Rick as he came over and resheathed his sword.
"Am I the only one here who's confused as to what happened? I really didn't do anything. I just—I lost myself for a second there," I explained to them.
"If you're done chatting amongst yourselves, do you mind leaving now? We're just simple soldiers doing our job here, not to experience something like that!" shouted Earl.
"Ok ok, we'll be leaving. Is there nothing else you can find around here? I can vouch that the hand belonged to my grandfather. I'm—certain of it," I said to Earl.
"Nothing else we can find here. From the look of things, two powerful people fought here and that's all we know. Only this hand was left here. Strangely though, there are no footprints leading away from the scene, so it's difficult for us to trace which way they went either. Haven't a clue where your "grandfather" went, little boy," explained Earl.
And it would seem that the stranger won. Damn it… Grandfather—where are you now? Your body is not here. Why would the stranger even take your body? Is he planning to desecrate your body or torture you for more information? Both possibilities angered me further. I'm just as confused as I was yesterday since there's no proper answer here for me.
We gave our thanks to Earl and proceeded to head back to the city. There was nothing else that we could do here since there's no trail for us to follow. But one thing is clear for me: I have a main objective and I intend to see it through. No, I won't be like a certain vault dweller that goes around on side objectives instead of focusing on the main objective. I willfocus on it! Unfortunately, I proved myself wrong.
Main Objective: Gather information about the infamous assassin and Grandfather's whereabouts.
My first task is to get stronger, and joining a guild is gonna help me with that. I'll also need to figure out who this "Elementalist" is too. He seems to have some deep connection with the Grandfather; perhaps he can shed some clues as to where he may be. Let us see which one comes first.
As we were walking back to the city, Rick came up and decided to have a chat with me.
"Hey, little man. You need to learn to control your emotions before you lose control of yourself again; otherwise, someone close to you might end up getting hurt. It affects your surroundings, you know?" said Rick.
"Been a while since I faced such intense fear. Not to mention from a little kid. Gosh, what has this world turned into?" he continued.
"What do you mean? Are you telling me that someone had used this—"technique" before?" I asked him.
"Well, I won't exactly call it a "technique". It is more like a "state" that causes other people around you to feel what you're feeling. Not only is it unpleasant, it's even capable of influencing other people's emotions. And to answer your question further, it's not exactly "someone" who used it before but "something". A demon my party and I encountered used something similar. Demons are tough creatures that are known for their lust for blood. They can even instil fear even more so than a Shadow Knight like me. So much for the pride of the Dark Guild in using spells to debuff our enemies," he explained with a sigh.
"You're in the Dark Guild? Really? You don't exactly give off any dark vibes. Not to mention your clothing is rather colourful," I told him. I thought being in the Dark Guild meant that you are gloomy, gothic, or emo.
"Haha! Clothing and vibes don't represent which guild you're from, little man. Joining a guild means that you can learn their skills and follow the path that the guild has set out for you. Well, no one is stopping you should you wish to role-play the guild you joined. Oh hey, you should join the Dark Guild since you already have that— "state" in you. Sort of fits your fighting prowess in instilling fear upon your enemies," he said with a thumbs up.
I have no idea which guild suits me more since I've not visited any. My father was in the Light Guild while my mother was in the Viking Guild. How did I even obtain this "fear state" thingy that everyone is talking about?
"I'll consider my choice after I've checked out the other guilds," I smiled at him.
"Well, from what I can see, you're definitely not fit to be a Viking. Your general strength is kind of low with your petite body. What's next, you're not using a spear, so the Dragon Guild is out of the question. You can forget about joining the Elemental Guild as they have way too many requirements to even be allowed to join. All that is left is the Dark or Light Guild," he shrugged.
Damn it, does everyone have to be so blunt in pointing out my height or size? Geez.
Alright, from what he explained, there are a total of five different guilds. Wait a minute, Elemental Guild? Is that where the Elementalist is? Perhaps I should check out that guild and ask some questions. A glimmer of hope, finally!
"Oh, don't you worry about the test. It will just be you facing some rookies. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, as what the Dark Lord sees is your growing potential. At least, that's what the initiation test is for when it comes to the Dark Guild. You'll pass the test, on that I have no doubt about it," he gave me a thumbs up once more.
He seems to be hell-bent on asking me to join his guild. Like some kind of pitch salesman, which is making me feel kinda sus right now.
"We can head to the townhouse after this, Zen. They will explain to us what each guild represents, offers, and which is more suitable for us," mentioned Lily as she was ahead of us. Seriously, nothing escapes her ears.
"Where did you get that information from?" I asked her.
"Geez, did you forget? The innkeeper told us after we had our dinner. It was on the house after we were done eating. Just some way for her to earn money instead of telling every new adventurer straight up," she replied.
Information at the cost of a meal? I call that a good deal.
"Oh right, you were talking to Rick when the innkeeper explained it to us. Sorry about that," she said with a cheeky smile.
Damn, she can be adorable when she wants to be. I think my heart skipped a bit.
***
"Mom! Dad said you were cheeky and adorable!" shouted my daughter.
"What the hell? Hey! We don't even know whether Lily is your mother. Don't get me in trouble, please," I told her.
***
We reached the city's southern entrance by noon. So much for being a quick journey. We were about to part ways when Rick came up to me.
"Hey, sorry about your grandfather. From the looks of it, he was fighting someone strong; judging from the condition of the landscape. But since there's no body found, there's still a chance that he's still kicking out there," said Rick as he handed me back my gold coin.
I pushed his hand back. Not only did he waste his time following me, I appreciate his effort in agreeing to escort me in the first place. He could have just walked away or just outright run after taking my coin. I will not overlook his good nature. And I can see that he was taken aback that I rejected taking back the coin.
"Keep it. You were willing to accept an offer from a kid. And for that, I'm grateful. Thank you—for willingly escorting me to check on my grandfather," I bowed to him.
Rick, along with the gung-ho female and his other two party members, rushed over to stop me from bowing. They were certainly flustered by my action.
"Alright then, we'll be going now. See you when I see you, little man," he winked at me.
"Oh, hey, if you do end up choosing the Dark Guild, look for me in the tavern. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on you during the test," he added. I just gave him a nod.
As they were walking away, he shouted, "Never give up, Zen! Never give up or lose hope! Hahaha!"
What a strange guy. I do hope we can meet again someday. Who knew that we would actually end up facing each other in combat the next day.