One month later.
Toward the East's Outer Region of the Green-Wood Divine Continent, somewhere far, far away from the Cloudia Kingdom and the Braveheart Clan.
A small settlement called Dandelion Village was situated next to the magnificent Eflo Woodland, a place with giant ancient trees measured up to hundreds of meters in height, imposing mountains and majestic rivers, deep ravines, and mysterious caves.
Usually, in the spring and summer, lush green vegetation and countless dandelion flowers would adorn the surrounding area, hence the name of Dandelion Village.
However, it's the start of the wintry season, and today was another snowy day.
A white blanket covered their tiny village.
Dozens of children gathered together, boys and girls, varying from three to ten years of age. Together, they huddle, encompassing a warm bonfire in a huge and shabby shelter in front of the village chief, Old Fei's house.
The few boys and girls might be young, but almost all of them look rather weathered, solid, and muscular like ferocious tigers.
Here in the village, it's a fairly typical feature as they need to practice martial art since young to survive in the dangerous environment outside the tall and protective wall of the city.
...
"Alright, kiddos, do y'all remember what I just said?"
Sitting in front of the warm campfire and the children, the village head, Old Fei, asked sternly with his breathy voice.
He was already old with a head full of white hair and a long beard. All these years, his muscles were decaying despite all the training, and he looked rather frail at the moment.
Even so, while dressed in a brown coat made of beast fur, Old Fei still retains the air of wisdom and strength as a village head.
"Yes, gramps, we remember." A few kids exclaimed in unison; they looked lively and full of youthful spirit.
"Yes, me too."
"Same here, we all remember. Grandpa chief, you have been retelling the story of your adventure many times already." A chubby boy said.
At the moment, everyone was rather focused and listening to the teaching from Old Fei. They had been doing this for many days already as it was still snowing outside, preventing them from practicing.
While it was a teaching session, it was more of a storytelling thing since most of the children here have rarely left the village. There was much to learn, even from a story.
Bum.
Old Fei tapped the chubby boy's head with his wooden cane and smirked. "You brat! So what if I retell my story—huh? You have a problem? Why don't you repeat it to my face?"
Just as the chubby boy was about to retort, he got another knock on the head, leaving a small bump. Feeling aggrieved, the chubby boy uses his little hand to cover his head and shut up.
"Um, very good. It seems you learned from my story." The campfire glowed, highlighting Old Fei's wrinkled face as he nodded in satisfaction.
"The Elfo Woodland has many resources but also many dangers."
"Only when you kids grew up and are strong enough could you be registered to be an adventurer and explore the world outside, and last but not least, you can protect our village."
"Remember, never let your curiosity take over and go into the forest alone as it's very dangerous." Saying so, Old Fei slightly tilted his head and revealed an old scar running down his neck.
"When I was young, just like all of you, I have sneak out of the village alone and was attacked by a Single Horned Rabbit. And even till this day, it's still hurt every winter."
There are many appearances of fierce spirit beasts within the Eflo Woodland. From birds with wings that could cover the sky to behemoths as big as a hill and small insects that are extremely venomous.
Even a Fourth-tier adventurer would lose their life if not careful.
Then, Old Fei looked at a particular silver-haired child with a strip of white bandage wrapped around both eyes and asked. "Do you understand, little Myah?"
"Un, I understand." While sitting next to his new best friend, Bumpkin, little Myah replied to Old Fei readily.
The other kids also turned to look at him, and their eyes began to glow.
Compared to their rigid body with tanned skin due to harsh training under the sun all the time, Myah was a size smaller with healthy and tender skin, very lovely and cute. They like him a lot and is full of smiles.
However, a few days ago, an accident happened when they invited Myah to play hide and seek near the wood. During the game, they lost sight of him. If it were not because the adults in the village were alarmed and immediately formed groups to search for Myah the whole night, something terrible might have happened.
Because of that incident, the group of children instantly became distressed and had guilty expressions on their faces.
"Gramps, it was also our fault!"
"We are so worried..."
"Me too."
...
Shaking his head helplessly, Old Fei reprimanded them nonetheless. "I knew that you kids didn't intend it, but little Myah can't see, and that is also why you all need to look after him when you go to play together."
"Although Myah and his grandmother just came to our village not long ago, we all are a big family."
"All of you have to learn to be responsible. Is that clear?"
The kids nodded and acknowledged their mistake.
"Don't worry, gramps, I'm fine," Myah quickly spoke. "It was my fault for wandering around randomly."
"Mmmm...All right, but still, be careful in the future; your grandma was very worried." Old Fei remarked. Seeing that Myah had opened up and talked more, he was happy inside.
The kid wasn't like this when he just came here.
One month ago, Myah and his grandmother, Mu Suyin, suddenly appeared in front of their village covered in blood.
Although surprised at first, the villagers weren't too shocked to see them since their small settlement was located next to the Elfo Woodland, where numerous adventurers would often pass through.
What surprised them most was that Mu Suyin asked to settle here in the village. Such a request was uncommon.
After all, rarely anyone wants to live in this small place with little to no protection.
However, after receiving some miscellaneous gifts, the Old Chief and the villagers take them in and treat them as their own.
"Alright, let continue with the story..." Old Fei stroked his long beard and coughed slightly. "Who remembers the part where I stopped?"
"..."
Everyone remained silent.
The old chief's face twitches a little in embarrassment, seeing their disinterested faces.
"Ye knew what? Let's talk about something new."