"
"How can you say that, Aaron? Grape pie is more delicious than strawberry," Safira says while eating her piece of bread.
"No! Are you crazy or what? Strawberry pie is a million times much better than that trash grape pie," Aaron grumbles; pieces of bread fly out of his mouth and fall onto the table.
Suddenly, a knock comes at the door of the house. Safira gets up and goes to open the door; she is heard talking to someone. Aaron notices this and goes toward the door.
"If you don't pay me the rent today, grab your things and get out of here!" an angry dwarf, the owner of the place, yells.
"I promise we will pay you next month, just let us stay a little longer," Safira looks at the dwarf, her voice broken.
"Then if you don't pay me, grab your things and get out right now!"
"But...!"
After a long discussion, Aaron and Safira are sitting on a bench. Aaron looks at Safira.
"I'm a little hungry and sleepy, Safira."
"Let's go eat something and find a place to sleep, maybe on this bench, I don't know..."
"Now what will we do! We have no money!" Aaron shouts, his voice cracking.
"I don't know yet," she lowers her gaze to the floor, showing defeat.
"This wouldn't have happened if you had paid."
"Ah, just shut up, dammit! You were supposed to pay too and you didn't," Safira replies with clear anger.
"Yeah, yeah, let's stop fighting and go have dinner. We have enough for dinner, right?"
Safira pulls two miserable silver coins out of her pocket.
"With this, maybe we can buy one plate of food. Come on, brother," Safira gets up from the bench.
"Yes! We have to order pork!" Aaron jumps off the bench in one bound.
"Yes, I was craving that too," Safira walks, but without noticing, she trips over a stone.
"The coins!" The coins fall and roll along the dark street.
At that moment, a feline human appears and quickly grabs the coins and runs away.
"Hey, idiot! Those coins belong to us!" shouts Aaron, who starts running after the human cat.
His sister also starts running behind Aaron.
"Get back here, you damned cat!" Aaron screams with all his might.
"The devil, are you that hungry that you're chasing me for two silver coins?" the feline says.
"When I catch you, I'll make you my dinner!" shouts Aaron, but little by little he runs out of breath and slows down.
Safira continues running with great speed as if she had four lungs.
The feline looks back and notices how the human continues running with tremendous speed: "Wow, that human can really run, I'll have to go through the darkest alleys."
The demi-human intelligently goes into a narrow, dark alley between the houses of the village. Safira follows him, but upon entering the alley, the feline is no longer there, as if the earth had swallowed him.
"I lost him," the young woman looks around her.
"Safira! Did you manage to catch the big cat?" Aaron finally arrives, taking big inhales and exhales.
"I'm sorry, Aaron, we won't have dinner today," she turns to leave the alley.
Aaron walks behind her, looks at the ground, and notices a discarded paper. He picks it up.
"Look, little sister." Aaron sees the page; it talks about an adventurer call for their guild; the call will be tomorrow. "What if we go to that guild?"
"Sure, Aaron, we can ask for a job as cleaners there."
"Not that, idiot! We have to become adventurers!" Aaron wrinkles the page. "I've always wanted to be an adventurer!"
"But Aaron... I don't know."
"Come on! We already planned to do it someday."
"Ugh, it's just... alright, fine, we'll go sign up."
"Yes! One of my dreams will come true, and I'll be the best hero of all time and kill all the monsters!" Aaron puts the page in his pocket and walks toward the alley exit.
The icy wind blew as the siblings walked away aimlessly, their coins lost and their stomachs empty. But fate had already dropped a piece of paper at their feet...
It is a quiet day in a medieval world full of magic and fantastical creatures. Safira and Aaron walk together through the stone streets of the town, surrounded by merchants, adventurers, and common folk.
"Well, we've arrived, Aaron," Safira says, pointing to a huge building with a carved wooden sign: Adventurers Guild.
Upon entering, they find a bustling hall full of life. People of different races laugh, drink beer, and chat animatedly. There are elves with pointed ears and an elegant appearance, demi-humans with animal features like wolf ears or cat tails, and other completely rare races... A true melting pot of cultures.
"Wow! Look at all these people! There are all kinds!" Aaron exclaims, spinning around with eyes bright with excitement.
"Yes, yes... well, let's get to what we came for," Safira replies with a slight smile, trying to maintain her composure.
They begin to walk around the guild, observing every corner. Aaron stops to stare intently at a group of elves talking to each other with an almost magical elegance.
"Look, this is where you sign up," Aaron says, pointing to a counter where an elf in a light green tunic awaits them with a cordial smile.
"Good morning, are you here to sign up?" she asks.
"Yes, that's why we're here," Safira replies.
"Perfect. Just fill out these forms," she hands them two sheets and points to a free table.
They sit together and begin to fill in the information. Aaron, unable to help it, continues to look around in amazement.
"Hey, did you see the elves? They're beautiful, their pointed ears look great. And the dwarves! They all look so old and wise with those enormous beards..."
Safira lifted her head with a frown and eyes sharp as blades.
"Aaron! Can you stop talking? I'm trying to concentrate," she said in a low voice but full of annoyance.
Aaron shrugged, smiling as if he hadn't noticed.
"Sorry... it's just that all this is so new. I've never seen so many races together. It's amazing."
After a few minutes, they return to the counter and hand over the sheets.
"Perfect! Come back tomorrow morning to receive your adventurer card," the elf tells them kindly.
The siblings stay in the guild to eat something. As Aaron walked between the tables, some conversations stopped. Several people looked at him with the same curiosity one looks at an endangered creature.
"Does seeing humans bother them that much?" Safira's eyes move from side to side, looking at the other species with a frown.
"Perhaps they find it curious to see humans. Remember that you don't see them every day," Aaron eats a bite of his beef. "Delicious!"
After a while, the two leave the guild heading home.
"What a drag to have to come tomorrow so early," Safira sighs, stretching lazily.
"Come on! We've signed up for the guild! It's what I've always dreamed of!" Aaron smiles from ear to ear.
"I only joined because you were excited about this... and to put an end to all this monster business."
"Hey, if you don't want to, you don't have to join, I don't want to force you to do something."
"I already told you, I'm doing it for you and because I want to put an end to all those damn things," his sister clenches her fist tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. "I'm sure they are the ones to blame for our parents being murdered." She stops clenching her fists and smiles at Aaron.
"And for the money, so I have reasons to do it."
They continue walking calmly through the lively streets. A demi-human passes in front of them; Aaron notices something strange, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
"Hey, this is the bastard who stole our coins last night!" He grabs the cat human's arm tightly.
"What's wrong with you!? Help!" the cat screams in desperation.
People hear the scream and turn to the scene; all present begin to yell and throw things at the siblings.
"Let's get out of here, Safira!" Without knowing what to do, they run out of the scene, without looking back, drenched in tomato on their faces.
The next day, Aaron and Safira are already at the guild. Aaron, as always, is excited watching all the incredible races that inhabit the place. After a while, they approach the elf at the counter.
"Good morning, we've come to pick up our adventurer cards," he shows a grin from ear to ear.
"Of course," the elf replies, "I just need to scan you."
She stands up and takes a magical staff, beginning to murmur strange words. A green aura surrounds the siblings for a moment. Then, the elf sits back down and begins to create their cards with magic.
"What was all that?" Safira asks, confused.
"You're incompetent, Safira," Aaron replies proudly. "What the lady did was analyze our Aetherian."
She gives the card to the siblings, who observe the card intrigued.
"Look! We're both warrior-type!" his eyes sparkle, with an excited voice. Safira only looks at him indifferently.
"In a few moments, your training will begin so that you can work in this guild."
"Thank you very much!" Aaron is still excited and ecstatic.
After a while, the two are in a hall with many more species; Safira looks around the whole hall, confused.
"Why are we in this hall, Aaron?"
"Well, we're going to take the exam."
"What?! There are exams too!?" she swallows hard, her voice becoming more agitated. "I'm very bad at exams, I won't pass the tests!" her eyes dart nervously around the hall.
Aaron looks at Safira arrogantly, showing a bright smile.
"Are you that stupid? But I'll help you if you buy me that food I saw at the market."
"Ugh! You're the worst, but I'll do whatever you want," she clenches her fist, frowning with a defeated look.
Instantly, an elf appears with long, beautiful blonde hair; his step already left an aroma of flowers. He stops in front of everyone.
"Good morning everyone, my name is Rowan, I am a Master level, and from now on I will be your guide in your training. Now take a seat to begin the exam."
Everyone in the hall sits down at the wooden desks. Aaron and Safira sit next to each other. Aaron leans towards Safira.
"Hey, Safira, that elf looks like a woman, doesn't he?" he whispers to her.
"Haha, it's true, he looks like a pretty girl. I'm sure any guy would like him," the two laugh, containing the sound of their laughter.
"Your exams are ready, I'll go by each table leaving them," he begins to hand out the exams. Seeing the page, the faces of the species change; everyone is sweating bullets, their eyes move nervously, and one's mouth is trembling. When he gets to us, the elf smiles forcefully.
"Oh, are you humans? It's a bit strange to see humans here."
"Yes, we are," Safira says, noticing the elf's forced expression.
He finally leaves the pages for each of them and walks away.
Safira lowered her gaze to the exam, and her face immediately paled. The paper trembled in her hands, as if it were a leaf in the wind. She swallowed with difficulty. A drop of sweat rolled down her temple, and her fingers could barely hold the pencil.
"What... is this?" she murmured, as if the exam were speaking another language.
Beside her, Aaron was already frowning, his gaze fixed on the sheet. He placed the pencil down decisively and began to write without hesitation. His movements were quick, confident, as if he already knew all the answers.
Safira looked at him out of the corner of her eye, with a mixture of astonishment and desperation, and murmured:
"Hey... pass me something, I don't understand anything..."
"You humans, minus a point for copying on the exam!" the elf points at them, yelling with a forceful voice. The two jump out of their chairs from the elf's scream.
"But we haven't done anything!" Aaron says. Everyone in the hall starts laughing.
Several minutes later, everyone finishes the exam. Rowan looks at the exams, a little disappointed.
"You may now leave, you will be given the results in a few minutes. Remember that the minimum to pass is 6.65. You may leave now, we will give you the results tomorrow."
After several minutes, everyone leaves the hall, some crying for not having passed and others jumping for joy.
"I'm so mediocre, I passed the exam by the minimum," Safira looks at her exam with a disappointed face.
"I would have gotten a perfect score if it hadn't been for your fault!"
"And you're only upset about that!?"
Aaron notices how a group of demi-humans is bothering an elf; without thinking, he runs towards them.
"Aaron! Where are you going now?" Safira also runs after Aaron.
"Hey, don't bother the elf!"
The demi-humans turn to look at Aaron, who is standing next to them; they start laughing when they see the human.
"What? Is a weak human going to tell us what to do? Get out of here."
Without thinking twice, Aaron closed his fist and threw a punch straight at the demi-human's face. The impact was dry and quick; the subject fell backward with wide eyes, staggering as if the world were spinning.
"Idiot, now you've done it!" roared another, a demi-human with wolf ears, advancing with his fists ready.
When he tried to hit Aaron, Safira intercepted like lightning. With a single hand, she caught the aggressor's arm in mid-air.
A hollow sound of tense, crunching bones filled the silence. The demi-human shrieked, doubling over in pain as his eyes filled with panic.
"A-Ah! Wait, please! We won't do anything else, I swear!" he pleaded.
The faces of his companions show shock, their eyebrows shoot up as their mouths drop open in surprise. After a few seconds, Safira lets go of the wolf demi-human's hand. They leave, scared by the sight of such a monstrous woman.
"T-thank you for helping me, I really appreciate it," the elf says, looking down and nervously touching her hands.
Aaron looks at the elf, with her blonde hair and honey-colored eyes and her typical mage's staff; he simply smiles at her. When she sees Aaron's smile, she shrinks back and looks away, blushing.
"Let's go, Aaron," Safira says.
"W-Wait!" exclaimed Freya, raising her voice more than usual. "I want... I want to invite you to eat, for helping me."
Aaron and Safira stopped dead. Their faces, pale from hunger and fatigue, lit up as if they had just heard they had won the lottery.
"Really!?" they said in unison, their eyes so wide they almost popped out.
Freya nodded shyly, avoiding their gaze and fidgeting with the fingers of her tunic.
"Y-yes... it's the least I can do."
They remain seated; Aaron eats like a pig, while Safira and the elf are seated next to him. Safira looks at the elf and smiles.
"And what's your name?"
"M-my name is Freya," she says without making eye contact with Safira.
"Nice to meet you, Freya. My name is Safira and this one here," she points to Aaron, who continues to eat like a complete animal, "well, this pig you see here is my brother Aaron."
"Nice to meet you, Freya," Aaron says, devouring his meat.
Instantly, Rowan appears and announces to everyone:
"Now comes your real test, time to teach you about the Aetherian."
To be continued.