The guards blocked the way with their spears as they started questioning Luis. His look is a mess, his clothing is tattered and full of dirt.
"Who are you? You are not from this town! What do you want to do here?" A guard questioned him.
"I just want to pass by the town to gather some resources before continuing my travels," Luis explained. The guards became suspicious of him because he looked more like a beggar than a traveler.
"Are you sure that you're not here to cause trouble?" The guard asked suspiciously.
"No! I just want to buy some stuff before continuing my journey! I swear that I'm not here to cause trouble!" Luis truthfully stated but the guards didn't buy a single word he said.
"Would you mind showing us the money you're planning to spend inside?" The guard asked as he opened his palm waiting for proof of his belonging.
"Damn! I forgot to ask what is the currency in this world!" Luis muttered to himself as he realized that he doesn't have the money they used for exchange in this world.
"So? Where is the money? Will you show it?" The guard asked impatiently as his hands are still held out.
"Uhm... I don't have any, but I swear I'm not causing trouble inside!" Luis pleaded as he kneeled in front of the guards.
"No kid! You're already causing trouble for yourself." The guard stated as he punched Luis to the face using his steel-covered knuckles.
Luis's face was swollen as memories suddenly surged through his mind reminding him of what happened in the past.
He was still young back then when the other boys, Josh included, bullied him for being weird. He was an introvert back then, reading books alone, sitting at the furthest side of the classroom and his stuff was always ruined by these kids.
He was always beaten up by four or more boys when he didn't do their assignments and projects or if he tried to ignore their demands. He was always beaten up every day as if those boys' day wouldn't be complete without beating the hell out of him.
He endured for years and when he was finally free from that hell, those memories reminded him of his suffering back then.
Luis tried to fight back from the beating of the guards which hurts more because of their steel armor.
He received a couple of kicks and punches from the guards. He tried to use his power to fight back but his mind and body won't allow him as the trauma ruled over his whole being at this moment.
He was beaten black and blue by the guards and kick him at the side of the road. From afar, he saw from his blurry vision a man pulling a wagon full of herbs and stuff. The man stopped in front of him and looked at his face.
"Are you okay young lad?" The only question Luis heard as his vision darkened and his consciousness fades away.
Some hours passed, Luis woke up and found himself lying on a wooden bed covered in layers of thin sheets and a pillow that felt like it was filled with hay.
He tried to sit up but his body aches like hell. His vision still blurry and his other eye is still swollen.
A moment later, an old man entered carrying a wooden tray with two bowls, one has a soup on it and the other has a green paste on it, and a bottle of greenish liquid.
"Oh! You're awake! I suggest that you shouldn't move around and take more rest." The old man stated.
"What happened? Where am I?" Luis asked after he looked around the small room made of woods.
"You passed out on the side of the road. I saw you full of bruises so I decided to bring you home." The old man explained what happened to him.
The old man tends his wounds and bruises while Luis ate the soup.
"Drink this medicine after you finished eating your meal." The old man instructed as he applied the green paste on Luis's bruises.
"Thanks for taking care of me Mr. uh..." Luis pondered.
"Dave, I'm Dave, you can call me, old man Dave or anything you like." The old man responded as he finished applying the paste.
"Where are am I? What is this place?" Luis asked as he looks at the empty bowl in front of him.
"This is the town of Eristreas, you are inside my house right now. So don't move a lot and take a rest, you need it." Old man Dave reminded.
A loud and quick knocking can be heard from the door of the house.
"Old man Dave! Old man Dave! Help us please!" A shout of a woman can be heard from the other side of the door.
"What happened Leonora?" Old man Dave asked.
"Please my son! Help him!" The woman named Leonora cried as her body shakes on the verge of breaking down on her knees.
"Bring him here! Quickly!" Old man Dave directed.
Old man Dave prepared the wooden bed in his living room just directly in front of his door. He went through the room where Luis was and opened some cabinets to get some supplies.
A moment after, a man carrying a child entered the house, and he lay the kid on the bed that Old man Dave prepared earlier. The kid has a lot of wounds and some of his skins are peeled off, blood stained the kid's body as the kid keeps on squirming and writhing from pain.
"Mom! Mom! It hurts! Please! It hurts!" The kid cried as his peeled skins kept on getting peeled and blood ooze out of it.
"Have you let him play in the forest lately?" Old man Dave asked Leonora.
"We don't know, he just came home scratching endlessly until this happened," Leonora answered while crying.
"This is a poisonous spore from Peeler Mushnion, a good herb but when the herb is still not mature, it contains spores that slowly peel of a being's skin. Now help me, prepare my things." Old man Dave explained as they started treating the kid.
After a couple of hours, the kid has been treated and Old man Dave asked him how did he get those poisonous spores. The kid explained that he found a plant that has some small petals under a big round green ball. Old man Dave confirmed that the plant he saw is a Peeler Mushnion and advised that they should avoid it, especially when its bulb is green.
Luis saw everything from afar from how did the old man mix some stuff into how he treated the kid. He witnessed everything as he saw how amazing is the old man is.
"Old man Dave, I want to learn what you did earlier!" Luis asked the old man as he looked at his eyes full of interest eager to learn.
"I have Alchemy as my main profession and just studied a bit of medicine because this town doesn't have any good physician around, might as well do both. Do you really want to learn?" Old man Dave clarified.
"Yes! I want to! If you're willing to teach me though?" Luis excitedly responded as his eyes had a hint of sparkle in it.
"Okay, I agree but you will help with everything okay? Now take a rest and tomorrow I'm sure you'll be better." Old man Dave agreed as he continued cleaning up his things.
Luis spent his night at old man Dave's house reading the old man's Alchemy and Physician related books so he can be ready when he needs to.
Days and months passed at the Eristreas Town. Old man Dave taught Luis everything he knew about alchemy and healing, they gathered herbs together, healed sick town's people, and live together. The people got close to Luis as if they accept him as their own and the guards who guarded the gates that beat Luis up were imprisoned for assaulting an innocent civilian.
Luis practiced his spells that he got from the fairies every night until he mastered all of them. He lived a normal and fulfilling life in this town and forget about the Divine Prophecy and what happened in the past that happened eleven months ago.
"There you go, Mr. Gus! Just put a patch on the area where the ache comes from and take a full day's rest. Please don't overload your body, we don't have another blacksmith around!" Luis reminded the man he gave a box of plasters that he made.
"Thank you, Luis! I will remember everything you said and try not to be stubborn!" The man named Gus laughed as he goes outside and waved goodbye to Luis and old man Dave.
"You're finally getting the hang of this Luis!" Old man Dave complimented Luis.
"Thanks, Grandpa Dave! I like this feeling of helping people and being accepted in the community." Luis responded pleased with the compliment he received.
"Anyway, I was getting my needles under your bed when I stumbled upon this box, is this yours?" Old man Dave asked as he handed a black box with golden linings and purple ribbon.
"Yes, grandpa Dave. I received this box back then and almost forgot about it." Luis explained as he received the box and opened it, it reminded him of what happened in the past, from his house with Grandpa Francis, the Imperial Academy, the Mysterious Temple, the Earthern Shrine, the Fairies, and Euclepius.
He pulled out the robe that he got and tried to fit it again. It looks as good as when he first wore it and since he gained some height and muscles from all the hard work he did, it readjusted.
"So, you are supposed to be a student of Divine Prophecy! That's great!" Old man Dave exclaimed as he saw the uniform Luis wore.
"Yes, but I was late on my admission last year so I ended up forgetting it and decided to live here," Luis responded as he looked at the robe with a complicated expression.
"Would you like to try enrolling at that academy again? It's a great opportunity for a talented child like you!"