"Ooh God! Oooh God! Ooh God!"
Derek mumbled in hushed tones while dashing through a thick forest. The thick canopy of leaves made it possible for only a few light rays to reach the forest floor, leaving the place mostly dark. Without hesitation, he began stripping off his armor, tossing each piece aside to lighten his weight. What he was dealing with were monsters with enough strength to snap his armor like a stick, yet they possessed the agility of cats.
Against all common sense, Derek looked over his shoulder, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of three massive shadowy figures twice his size, hopping from branch to branch with crimson eyes burning like fire.
Bam!
This short moment of distraction proved fatal. He tripped on a protruding root and fell with a loud bang, causing all the arrows in his quiver to scatter across the ground and spraining his ankle.
Guhhh!
Derek gritted his teeth in pain, but he held it in, grabbed as many arrows as he could, and sprang to his feet, limping away. He could hear the grunting sounds getting closer with every passing second, but he kept his head down and continued limping forward. It was a nightmare knowing he could be caught at any time and have his back hacked open. For some reason, his back felt heavier than usual, its weight threatening to topple him over.
However, that never happened.
No matter how close their grunts got, they never reached him.
And then…
"The light!" Derek gasped.
A way out of this cursed forest had revealed itself!
Thud!
Huff!
Derek released a loud exhale as he stood at the edge of a cliff. Beneath it was a swirling mass of darkness, like a black river. His pounding heart calmed as feelings of grief washed over him.
"I'm dead…" he mumbled under his breath.
The crackle of laughter from deep voices lurking in the shadows felt like a dagger to his heart. It became abundantly clear that he was nothing more than a plaything to these monsters. Slowly, he turned around to see towering shadows standing at the edge of the forest, refusing to step into the light. They easily stood over seven feet tall, with muscular builds that would make Hercules die of jealousy.
One of them stepped out of the forest, its emerald-colored skin glittering under the sun. Its braids were decorated with bones, and it had two tusks, one of them snapped in half.
Derek stared at the creature, his body petrified with fear as his pants soaked with urine.
He peed himself.
He could only stand and watch as the hulking figure walked over, reaching him in just three strides. It slowly raised its battle axe high into the air before letting it fall.
Bam!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Derek kicked his blanket aside and hopped to his feet with uncanny agility for a fifteen-year-old. However, only after getting to his feet did he notice he was not alone.
There was a little girl, aged ten, wearing a simple gown and staring at him blankly, her long black hair cascading down her face. She had a very distinguishable forehead and big circular eyes people instantly fell in love with.
It was Derek's little sister, Linda.
Silence quickly followed as the two stared at each other for several seconds, before both their eyes dropped to Derek's wet pants, then to his soaked bed, and finally met again.
It was silent, but the silence was heavy and almost threatening between them.
Thud!
Without saying a word, Linda bolted out of the room, while Derek jumped to grab her but narrowly missed by an inch.
Bam!
"Ouch!"
Derek grabbed his bruised elbow, wincing in pain, knowing this was nothing compared to the scolding and embarrassment he was about to endure.
__ 5 minutes later ___
Derek knelt beside his bed, his head lowered, occasionally shooting malicious glances at Linda, who was hiding behind their father's towering figure. Linda had been mute since the day of her birth, but that did not make the little devil sweet in any way. Strangely, the girl who could not talk never missed a chance to expose his mistakes to their dad. She was the family police, always hovering around him, waiting for him to mess up.
While Derek knew her as the silent demon, everyone else adored her and loved her cute face. Her silence added a layer of fragility that somehow made everyone love her even more. For ten years, he had never once gained the upper hand in this sibling war.
"You are turning sixteen today and you are still bedwetting?" John scolded harshly.
He was a middle-aged man in his late thirties with an average appearance, his only impressive features being his bald head and thick mustache. John's massive frame would fool anyone into believing he was a warrior, but this man had never lifted a sword in his life.
In fact, he was soft and loving, contrary to his terrifying appearance.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I had a bad dream…" Derek's voice trailed off.
John wanted to scream that everyone had bad dreams and that it was not an excuse. But seeing Derek's slumped shoulders and embarrassed expression, his eyes softened, and he could not bring himself to scold him further.
Unlike him, his children did not inherit his rugged physique. They were soft and fragile like their mother, and that was what he loved most about them.
In all his six-foot-seven greatness, John crouched and pulled his son into an embrace.
"Hey buddy… it's your sixteenth birthday, and I'm getting you registered at the Moonshade Guild like you always wanted. I'm just worried you'll get picked on if they find out you still wet the bed, and Daddy won't be there to help you," John explained carefully.
Those words made Derek's gloomy face light up like a candle. He raised his head to meet John's gaze and asked,
"I can really become an adventurer?"
Derek blinked in surprise, his smile widening uncontrollably.
To that question, John could only nod with a bitter smile. On the Arthadal continent, life was not easy for commoners like him. In the mighty Gyro Empire, serfdom was practiced. People worked day and night only to receive one-hundredth of their proceeds as remuneration. To make ends meet, he even took on a second job as a cobbler, a trade the Angus family had run for several generations.
It was only natural that a father would not want this life for his children.
John nodded and ruffled Derek's hair. "Now get up, wash up, and get dressed so we can register before anyone else. But first, you must promise never to wet the bed again!"
At this point, Derek was smiling from cheek to cheek, his perfect dentition exposed. Without hesitation, he hugged his dad again while nodding. "I promise!"
John laughed, amused by Derek's honest reaction. They shared a small chat and a few laughs before Derek was given space to clean up his mess. Once he was done, he washed up and changed into his best clothes before joining his dad. Together, they hired a carriage for three copper coins and headed to the Moonshade Guild branch in Oakrest Town, a border town in the small Kingdom of Loth, a one-star kingdom among several subsidiary kingdoms under the mighty Gyro Empire.
The ride was short, as Moonshade's headquarters was located on a hill at the outskirts of the city, not too far from the commoner residential district. As they approached the hill, Derek stuck his head out of the carriage, his eyes widening at the sight of its towering walls and massive steel gates.
In a weak one-star kingdom like theirs, Moonshade was a top guild and their best bet. The carriage rolled up the hill and stopped at the towering gates, where the duo stepped down.
Unsurprisingly, they were not the only ones there. Adventurers' associations were extremely busy, as they accepted all tasks ranging from restocking supplies to battling dragons, even the desperate pleas of old ladies searching for their cats. It was only natural for the place to be as busy as a market square, but no one was bothered because it was also the safest place in town.
After a brief identity verification, they were allowed into the fortress, where they were greeted by a dazzling sight of castles with high spires, adventurers of different shapes and sizes dressed in fashionable attire, each bearing powerful equipment.
While some were less glamorous than others, they all looked impressive in their own unique ways.
"This place is huge. It's like a city of its own."
Derek gasped at the sight of buildings scattered everywhere, including castles. He wanted to explore deeper, but the Moonshade Guild's registration office was located only a stone's throw from the gate.
It was a large building, a duplex dedicated to filtering out talent from trash and placing them in their respective categories. Everyone wanted to be an adventurer, but only a few had the talent to make it big. It was their job here to burst bubbles and kill dreams.
They entered the building and were greeted by a massive hall with several counters scattered across the floor, each staffed by women testing magical aptitude. On every counter sat a simple velvet pillow, and atop it rested a strange hexagon-shaped blue crystal. Once touched, if a person had mana attunement, it would glow, signaling their capability to learn magic. If not, it meant their body was not suitable to absorb, store, or manipulate mana, rendering them unable to learn or cast magic.
The process was simple, and that was what made it gut-wrenching.
Derek and John joined a less populated line, where they watched several people get rejected. On one occasion, a middle-aged man collapsed onto the floor and howled in despair as if his life was over. Several guards had to drag him away as he refused to leave and insisted on trying again.
While this was the most extreme reaction, the others were not much better. Every one of those people carried dreams just like his, so seeing them told they could never become adventurers by the cold, ruthless women behind the counters was heartbreaking.
Before it was his turn, over ten people had already been tested, and none had any mana attunement. After watching so many people fail, it was only natural for Derek to feel anxious as he stood before the blue gem.
On the other side of the counter sat a middle-aged woman wearing glasses that amplified the annoyance on her face. She spared Derek a brief glance before returning her gaze to the paper in her hand.
"Name and age," she asked flatly.
"Derek Angus. Sixteen."
The woman nodded as she scribbled something down.
"Indigene of Oakrest, or did you move here?"
"Indigene, born and bred," Derek replied, unable to stop himself from joking.
She looked up.
It was not annoyance, just curiosity.
Not many people joked when they came here. They were usually nervous and uncomfortable. Seeing the simple smile on Derek's face, mirrored by John's own, she quickly realized the truth.
This was just a happy child with a happy father.
"I can see that," she said, continuing to write.
After a moment, she put down her pen and stretched out her hand.
"That will be three silver coins."
John drew in a cold breath at the price, though he had expected it.
Magic academies across the empire were costly and mostly reserved for nobles and the wealthy, or those backed by either group.
It was not something commoners could afford, which was why guilds under the Adventurers' Association were loved and cherished everywhere. Once a person showed magical aptitude, these guilds took it upon themselves to train and provide for them until they became full-fledged mages.
However, this was not charity.
Entrance fees to test magic aptitude alone cost three silver coins and were non-refundable. Even if a child had no talent, the money was gone. Many people left this place three silver coins poorer with nothing to show for it.
For a commoner, accumulating one silver coin took months of hard work. It was gut-wrenching.
But that was not all.
Once accepted, a contract was signed, binding the person to the guild under a massive debt of one gold coin. It was said a commoner's worth was one gold coin at best, as they could never earn more than that even after a lifetime of dedicated labor.
The guild taught and provided. In return, adventurers slaved away until the debt was repaid. Only then could they leave and live freely.
John forced a smile as he retrieved three silver coins from his pouch and handed them to the woman. She nodded, put them away, and slid the pillow with the blue crystal toward Derek.
"Place your hand on the crystal, please."
Huff!
Derek exhaled loudly as his body tensed. His palms became slick with sweat, and his body stiffened.
"This is it, buddy," John said softly, rubbing his shoulder.
Derek nodded, held his breath, and grabbed the crystal. It felt ice-cold, the kind of cold that made someone want to pull away instantly, yet there was also a faint warmth that allowed him to keep holding on despite the discomfort. That warmth was small, nearly negligible.
While Derek struggled to decipher the strange sensation, John and the woman watched with held breaths as the mana crystal reacted.
It buzzed slightly, slowly filling with light before stopping. The crystal glowed, but the light was dim, threatening to snuff out at any moment.
John and Derek searched the woman's face, their hearts sinking as she shook her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry. Your son's attunement to mana is too weak. He does not have what it takes to be a mage."
BUZZ!!!
Derek's vision blurred as static filled his ears. John was speaking, but his voice faded into meaningless background noise as Derek stared blankly at the crystal in his hand.
'I do not have what it takes to be a mage…'
The words echoed hollowly.
This was the equivalent of being told to stop dreaming. It would never happen.