Chapter 1: The Boy

LOCATION: ASTEA MARKET

"I can't wait to enter!"

"I'll surely finish that divine land floor! Wait for me, King! I'll beat the shit out of you!"

"I heard the Asrail Players were strong too! Their magics were unbeatable!"

"Those players were all foolish. Giving your life for an unwinnable fight! Our King is super powerful! No one can win against him!"

'Ludricous.' The cloak-covered man thought.

It's been 5 years since he last stepped on Astea, land of power. But the ambiance of the place has stayed the same. The area still reeks of sweat and alcohol from those muscle-headed Astean warriors.

The only thing that changes within the place is the volume of Astean, which gathers around. The upcoming opening of the divine land's gate sure gives uproar to all people.

"I'm sorry." The boy said. He bumped onto someone. He was overthinking that he didn't notice the person before him.

"Sorry?" A hoarse voice covered his ears.

The boy lifted his head and saw a giant Astean warrior there. The warrior was covered with dirt, and he stunk so bad.

'Unsightly.' The boy thought.

"It's my fault. I'm sorry." The boy apologized. "Excuse me." He tried to walk through the warrior, but he was stopped by a giant hand. The warrior held his shoulder tightly.

"Woah, woah! Do you think you could pass me that fast after bumping into me? Child, no one dares to disrespect me like that." The warrior said.

Those Astean around seems to notice the uprising commotion.

"Oh dear, Baticcus is hitting someone again!"

"Poor child, Baticcus never let his enemy escape from his sight without a broken limb."

"He stinks so as his attitude. "

There, the Astean gossipers started to throw words.

"SHUT UP, BASTARDS!" The warrior roared.

The gossipers got scared by Baticcus's voice and moved a little away. But still kept their eyes on Baticcus and the boy he was hitting on.

"Now, now." Baticcus threw his attention back to the boy. "You cheeky brat, you should know by now that I'm Baticcus. The top 10 strongest Astean! But still, you dared to bump onto me. A simple apology wouldn't make up your sin, child."

'Simp. Power hunger bastard.' The boy wanted to say, but he chose not to. He gritted his teeth.

The boy sighed. "Then tell me, Mr. Baticcus. What should I do to atone for my sin?"

As much as possible, the boy didn't want much attention. Getting inside, Astea was pretty stiff this day since the gate's opening day was approaching, and getting into a fight might spoil his agenda.

Baticcus show off a mischievous smirk. A smirk that shows his full of cavity teeth. It was turning black; his breath was also foul to smell. Baticcus is a big man and has a scary-looking face. The clothes he's wearing look like a rug. His clean, shaved head was also dirty and awful to see.

'This is one of the strongest Astean? Foolish.'

"So, you're an easy brat. If you really want my forgiveness, kneel before me, beg for my forgiveness, and lick my feet." Bacchus said and showed his vast and dirty feet.

The boy almost vomits at that mere sight. He never sees feet that dirty.

'Saskia and Sasti were more good-looking than him even after soaking in the mud.' He thought about his beloved pet goat.

"What are your waiting for? Kneel! Beg! Lick it!"

The boy shut his eyes close and composed himself. After a minute, he bent his knees to the ground. The people around gasped.

"Gwahahaha! That's right, child! Now, beg!"

He gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Baticcus..."

Atticus put his right hand at his ear and acted as if he didn't hear the pleading of the poor boy.

"What is it? HUH?! LOUDER, BRAT!"

The boy grasped his cloak. "I'm sorry, Mr. Baticcus."

"Gwahahaha! That's right! Now, lick my feet!"

The boy lifted his head. His face was covered with the cloak's hood. The sun was glowing severely that it was hurting his eyes. Baticcus has an awful-looking face; it hurts his eyes too.

"What are you waiting for?!" Baticcus roared. "LICK!" Baticcus pushed his right foot into his shoulder. That's when the boy loses his composure.

'Damn this big dirt!'

The boy was about to fall because of the force. He uses his right hand to support his weight. Then his left hand simply slid inside the cloak and grabbed the dagger at his hips. He used his feet to push himself up.

The dust was flying around because of his movement. Some of it went to Baticcus's eyes.

"Gwaah! You brat---!" Baticcus didn't finish his words when the boy used his right foot to undo Baticcus's balance. He swung it at Baticcus's feet, which made Astean Warrior fall.

A loud thud, followed by Astean's gasp, echoed. Baticcus is now lying on the ground. Baticcus used his left hand to get up.

"Damn you, br--- GWAAAH!" While getting up, the boy throws the dagger onto Baticcus's left hand. Baticcus lost his balance again and screamed.

He leaned and got the dagger in Baticcus's hand. It was now covered with blood.

'Gross.'

"HELP! IT HURTS!" Baticcus screamed, but no one dared to help.

The boy wiped the dagger with Baticcus's clothes. When the blood could not be seen, he used his cloak to clean his dagger again. Then he put it back at his waist.

"It's bleeding! Help!" Bacchus was still screaming.

'Noisy piece of shit.'

The boy got irritated by Baticcus's screams. He sighed, then stepped on Baticcus's neck.

"S-STOP! I-I-I CAN'T---!"

"Shut up." He ordered.

Baticcus shivered because of it. He never felt this intensity and dominant behavior before. It feels like a huge lion is scrutinizing him. Because of the fear he's feeling, Baticcus peed while lying down.

"That's gross, Mr. Baticcus." He said. Even without seeing his face, Baticcus knows how devilish his face is.

"S-Spare m-me... l-let me live..." Baticcus plead.

The boy stared at him and then sighed.

"Fine." He said, then removed his right foot from Baticcus's neck.

"T-thank y-you..."

"Thank you?" He chuckled. "You're foolish creature. You should really thank me. Be thankful that you only got that wound. Be thankful that I let this pass. Be thankful that I didn't kill you. You understand?"

Baticcus nodded nervously.

The boy cleaned the dirt off his cloak. He stretched a little, then started to walk away. The whole crowd, who's now trembling in fear, separated. They made their way to the cloak-covered man.

No one dared to talk until he vanished.

LOCATION: ASTEA LIBRARY

This is the boy's primary purpose why he went to Astea. He's looking for reliable books to study more about Astea. He must look for more books about how Astean got tremendous power. He still lacked something; he knew it himself.

He took a few books and examined them. But all of it was not that useful for him. He already knows the basic information about Astean.

'All of this is useless. ' he thought. He wants something new.

He put the books back on the shelves. Then he looked for more books. One book caught his attention.

"Book of Supremacy by Colossus Camelot..."

He smirked.

'What a bogus.'

He put the book back on the shelf and moved to another side of the library.

After an hour, the boy paid for his desired book.

"10 books for 250 Asmi." The library owner said. Asmi is the money used at Astea and Asrail. It was noted as an item made inside the divine land. The boy knew it was not; people used the divine land to earn more money.

He paid for the books and then went outside. While walking around, he hears gossip about his fight with Baticcus.

"They said it was a powerful Australian who beat Baticcus!"

"Yeah, I heard that too. The witnesses said that the deviant man cast a spell on Baticcus, and he stopped his pulse!"

"Yeah! They even said that the deviant man has a scary-looking face!"

All of the circulating gossip needed to be corrected. Maybe the Asrailan part was quite right, but not really.

'Good thing they didn't see my hair.' He thought. He touched his head and sighed.

Since he bought all the stuff he needed, the boy decided to go home.

LOCATION: FOREST BETWEEN ASTEA AND ASRAIL

The boy dumped the sack of books on the chair before him, then stretched his arms. This day was a really aweary one. He planned not to cause commotion in Astea, but it all changed because of that filthy warrior.

'He should be thankful I didn't behead him. Tsk.'

He sighed and sat on the chair near him. He shut his eyes closed and tried to relax, but he couldn't.

His eyes automatically opened when he felt a presence coming near him. He held the dagger in his waist, waiting if that creature would attack him.

The boy felt someone tap his shoulder, so he maneuvered his body through the creature's position and ready himself to attack. But he stopped midway when he saw who the creature was. The dagger was an inch away from the creature's neck.

"Eiro!" He exclaimed. "You surprised me." The boy said, then withdrew his dagger.

"You're being too wary, Eijin." Eiro, the newly arrived creature, said.

"Just be thankful I didn't slit your neck, old geezer." He said, then sat again on the chair.

"Hahaha! I'm not that old brat." Eiro said. "How's Astea, Eijin?"

He clicked his tongue. "Still full of filthy Astean bastards."

"Hahaha! I figured! So, you don't cause any commotion, right?" The boy was petrified, and Eiro noticed it. "So you did."

"I'm not the one who started it!" He explained.

"I know, but I warned you beforehand that place was full of egoistic and befouled creatures. You wouldn't survive that place."

"I can! Leilani told me that." He said, "I'll tell Leilin you mocked her region." He joked.

"Hahaha! No need! She knew that herself. She's aware of how pitiful that place is."

"You act like you've been in that place, old geezer."

Eiro smirked playfully. "I did, at least once."

"When? When Asrail chase you away? When you escaped with Leilin out of Astea?" He kidded.

Eiro's expression changed. "That's not funny, brat."

"Sorry."

Eiro suppressed his laughter and tapped his shoulders. "Silly! Hahaha! It's fine! I'm just kidding! Anyways, go inside; Leilin is almost done cooking."

He punched Eiro's shoulder and then headed inside their house.

"Asshole!" He said before entering.

Eiro smirked. "Back to you, son."

The aromatic scent conquered his nose when he went inside. He headed to the kitchen, and there, he saw Leilin in front of their small kitchenette. Leilani seemed to notice his presence; she turned her head and smiled widely at him.

"Welcome back, son."

"Yeah, I'm home." The boy smiled. "Where Saskia and Sasti?"

"There, playing outside," Leilin stated while stirring her dish.

"What? I told them not to be dirty!" The boy said in annoyance.

Leilani chuckled. "Let them; those goats loved playing," she said. "I'm almost done; wait a few minutes, then let's eat."

"Should I call Eiro?" The boy asked.

"It's father, Eijin. Not Eiro. If your father hears that, you'll quarrel again."

"Whatever."

"Fine, fine. Take a seat, Eijin. Tell me about your journey to Astea."

Eijin, the boy, uncovered his hood. A few strands of his crimson shoulder-length hair covered his eyes; he raked it using his fingers.

His pink lips drawn smiled at Leilin, showing his dimples and white teeth. His porcelain-like skin was gleaming with excitement, and his glass-like brown eyes mirrored glee that matched the perfectly arced black eyebrows and long eyelashes.

"By deducing from your expression, seems like you had galvanic experience, huh?"

Eijin smirked. The mole under his eyes and his now playful gaze excites Leilin to listen to his story.

"Sure it is," Eijin said, then started to storytelling.

-DriewNrocinu