"Name?"
"Jonathan Haze."
"Enter. Name?"
"Elisha Andrews."
"Enter. Name?"
As the conductor looked at his list, he called out names to check whether these people had booked the ticket to go on the bus. If one had booked, he would receive access, and his name would be on the conductor's list. When the conductor requested his name, he would then show him his ticket and state their name. If his name was on the list, then you would be granted entry into the giant hunk of metal.
When Darius first saw the bus, he was stunned and speechless. Since it was his ticket to the Capital, he had been expecting something magnificent looking. Yet, right now, what came his way was a giant rusty metallic cuboid with wheels on the bottom shaking from side to side.
"Am I really going to be safe in there? Can that thing even hold human beings? Ah, I'm starting to feel like this was a bad idea..." Darius thought to himself. Darius was, by nature, a coward. He valued his life significantly and wanted to avoid anything that could possibly endanger him as much as possible. As far as Darius was concerned, courage was a word made to cull the stupid from humanity's ever-growing population."
"Name. Oy, kid, I said tell me your name!"
The conductor's shout brought Darius out of his stupor. "Uhm, ehem... sorry about that! Darius Omen. My name is Darius Omen."
The conductor raised a brow when he heard Darius' strange surname, but then again this wasn't the first time he had listened to a weird name. He grunted in approval and waved to Darius for him to enter the death tra... ahem, bus. Darius stepped into the large, metallic vehicle with a large gulp.
He quickly found a seat and hugged his duffle bag as if his life depended on it. As soon as the grumbling conductor was done, a sharp whistle was emitted. Darius assumed this was a signal from the conductor to the driver, who was probably somewhere in this rust bucket. There were only windows by the side while in front there was only more metal and the conductor's seat.
The conductor himself sat down and began to read a newspaper as their journey began. Darius began to quiver as the bus started moving at a speed that made it difficult to even recognize what was outside.
"Th-th-the bus wasn't moving this fast before." Uttered another frightened passenger behind Darius.
The conductor merely chuckled and continued reading his paper: "If we arrived at our normal speed, none of you would have the guts to enter the bus."
An old-sounding voice came from nowhere as it echoed throughout the bus. Darius looked around and tried to figure out where that sound came from. However, just like the other new passengers, he was unsuccessful. The passengers who had already been on the bus for quite some time ignored this phenomenon as they seemed used to it.
Darius hugged his bag and started praying. He didn't know who or what he was praying to, but he did so anyway:
"Please don't let me die young!"
...
Spirits were mankind's worst enemy. They had appeared out of nowhere centuries ago and had been plaguing mankind ever since. They came in many forms with many strange abilities; however, they all had one thing in common: they loved to devour humans. The war between mankind and the spirits had been going on for a long time.
As far as Darius knew, there were only two existences keeping mankind alive.
The first was spirit knights, mighty warriors who could challenge the mighty spirits on equal footing.
The second existence was Spirit Smiths. Such people were expert craftsmen who were able to use the bodies of dead spirits to create incredible things.
Darius's current goal was to become a Spirit-smith. Not only did they enjoy a high status in society, but they were also richer than any other type of person in existence outside royalty! Darius knew that to be a Spirit-smith, one needed to have two things: the first was incredible willpower. Darius believed that he had plenty after hitting the anvil continuously for six years without stopping;
The second requirement... was spiritual affinity.
This was something Darius didn't quite understand, but he knew that one's spiritual affinity could be tested as soon as one reached the age of 12. Darius was found to have a below-average spiritual affinity. This did not stop Darius from pursuing his dreams, because he knew those esteemed Spirit smiths would also need assistants.
Darius's goal was to become a spiritsmith's assistant, and with time, learn how to become a Spirit-smith himself. This path was chosen by those who were not that talented in terms of spiritual affinity. Darius believed he could make up for his lack of talent with his intelligence and willpower. It was wishful thinking, but this was Darius's only hope to be able to live an everyday life.
Not to mention Spirit Smiths made a lot of money! Darius's wish was to become extremely rich and marry many wives. He was a very perverse young man. Unfortunately, after his hammering sessions, he would never have the time or energy to pursue his desires. Darius had seen many of his fellow orphans go to brothels. All he could do was look on in envy.
"Damn curse." Darius would always inwardly swear when he saw this.
He was afraid of the consequences of him sleeping with a woman while the curse was still active. Thus, all he could do was hammer on.
"But I'm close... this time I'm close... I can feel it. I'm this close to breaking the damn curse! Hahahahahahaha." On the bus, Darius put on a smirk as he thought about what he would do when the curse was finally broken: "Every brothel in the Capital will know the name Darius Omen! Ahahahahahahaha..."
Since he was utterly enraptured in his daydreams, Darius was utterly unaware of his surroundings. The constant shaking and bouncing off their transportation had ceased. In other words:
the bus had arrived at its destination.