*Cough cough!*
As the sun rose, this was also the beginning of the malnourished man's incessant coughing that could be heard throughout the small village of Normin.
His name is Salvador, a man with an unknown disease. He used to be a soldier of the Phigua Kingdom and was once honored as the best soldier who came from a commoner family, because of that he was even recognized by the king himself.
However, 5 years ago without any warning he fell ill and was discharged.
"Op-opss. Slowly." A young man said as he helped this poor man sit up.
He put the glass of water in his mouth and helped him drink while gently rubbing his back.
"Cough! I'm... sorry son for being a b...burden to you all this time... Cough!"
Hearing his father say those words, the young man's lips curled into a smile and uttered, "What are you saying! You're not a burden to me at all."
His name is Jin, an eleven-year-old boy that lives with his father and his self proclaimed disciple in a small and crappy house in the back alley of the village. His mother is not dead, but has gone with another man with all his father's wealth.
Perhaps she suspected that her husband was about to get sick and left, not wanting to take care of him and her 3 year old son.
After feeding his father breakfast, Jin prepared his hunting equipment and left for the forest after saying goodbye.
"Beppo, I will be on my way now! Make sure you take care of my father until I get back." He said as he walked out of the village.
Beppo an eight-year-old boy rushed to the front door. He stood straight to see Jin out and answered in a proud and confident manner.
"You don't need to worry about that master. I will take care of the master's father and master even if you don't say so."
Despite the fact that he was still young, Jin was forced by the reality of hunting animals for food to survive.
At first he was hesitant and unable to kill animals so he always depended on the professional hunters in the village, however, over time Jin got used to it to the point where he became an independent hunter at the age of 9.
Jin also learned how to identify medicinal plants and their use to reduce his father's medical expenses even a bit. He sells the extra animals he catches to pay his father's physician for weekly therapy, and saves extra money for his future exam in the World library.
Every day, for almost 4 years, Jin does this work not only to survive for the day but also for the hope that one day his father will be cured before he becomes a true mage.
'Don't worry father, I will definitely become a real mage so we can escape this miserable life.'
_
_
Chirp, chirp!
In a dangerous high ground forest of Scavar where not only dangerous animals but also monsters lurk, Jin stands stealthily in the tree limbs watching while waiting for his target to slow down.
Shortly after, Jin stretched the string of his bow and aimed at the innocent deer, soon he let loose an arrow upon seeing it stopped to eat some grass.
The arrow traveled as fast as lightning and hit the deer's eye all the way to its brain. The deer dropped dead without even having a chance to show any reaction.
———
——
_
*Ting, ting!*
The sound of the bell that rang throughout the city of Cribya, the capital of Phigua, indicated the time at 12:00AM.
Venon castle of Phigua Kingdom.
Inside Venon's Throne hall, the king named Argus Phigua, sat proudly on the throne as his three of his loyal knights, wearing flashy armor, knelt in front.
"Bring all the men commoners from the border of Phigua to the battlefield." Argus said in a straight voice as if his decision was already set in stone.
Hearing their king's words, the three showed different reactions to each other. However, since their majesty's words are absolute to them especially when his tone was like that, they didn't try to oppose it and just went along.
But one of them inquired.
"What if they resist?"
Argus looked at him with threatening eyes and uttered, "Are you asking because you don't know or you just wanted to confirm it? If they try to oppose my order, then kill them."
"Yes, your majesty."
Argus extended his hand forward and uttered, "If you get it, then leave."
The three stood up and left to execute the order of their majesty after receiving the written order.
Setting their foot out of the castle, Joshua let out a small sigh of weary and looked at the two.
"I'll take the north, then." He said in a lazy manner and flew.
'This order is much more difficult than killing. I don't want to interact with these dirty commoners.'
Asking the commoners to be on the front line even if they weren't soldiers, they knew very well how those people would react, thus to prevent that from happening, sugarcoating their word is a must.
By using the sweetest words that come out of their mouths, there is a high possibility that the commoners will believe what they said as they are the disciples of the country's heroes.
Daniel Guebara. (Scorpio)
Joshua Agnus. (Pisces)
And, Hilary Ghard. (Aquarius)
They were members of the so-called 12 Zodiac new generation group, the continent's greatest warriors chosen to succeed in overthrowing the Demon king prophesied to be resurrected in the near future.
Half an hour later after leaving the castle, Joshua arrived at Normin village.
While hovering in the air, his armor shone like a star due to the sunlight reflecting off it, thus attracting the eyes of the people below.
The villagers that saw his figure were overjoyed as they prospect of good news.
'I hope they easily obey his Majesty's orders.'
As Joshua came down, the villagers gathered around him and welcomed him wholeheartedly with smiles on their faces.
"The hero has arrived. Give your best regards!"
"Praise the Hero!"
Showing their appreciation to Joshua, the villagers suddenly step aside leaving a path in the middle like Moses parting the sea with his staff.
On a path made by the villagers, walked an old man with a cane who seemed to be respected in the village. He approached Joshua and spoke to him with a kind smile.
"Hero, you must be tired from your trip." Said Grego, the village chief. "Why don't you come to my humble house to drink some water and rest for a while."
Joshua looked at the old man with a questioning face and inquired,
"Are you the village chief here?"
Grego's eyes widened as the sudden question of Joshua and responded with a bow.
"Oh my, Forgive me for my rudeness Hero. I'm Grego, the chief of Normin village."
"No, no, no. Raise your head sir. I was the rude one who came to your village unannounced." Joshua smiled as he scratched the back of his neck and continued. "I'm sorry to say this but, is your offer still...?"
Joshua showed a benign personality because he believed that if he behaved like that until he told them about his Majesty's order they would easily be convinced and obey the order without question.
"..." Grego looked at Joshua for a second before saying, "Right, I almost forgot. Yes, please follow me."
Grego turned and guided Joshua to his home.
Grego's house isn't that luxurious considering that all of the houses there were all made of wood, however, it's still the most presentable in the whole village compared to the other houses.
Arriving in front of Grego's house, Joshua showed a little disappointment in his face and thought, 'Is this supposed to be a human house? I thought it was stable.'
Grego tapped Joshua on the shoulder before walking forward, he opened the door and invited Joshua to enter.
"My house may not be to your liking, but please feel at ease and rest to your heart's content."
"O-okay." Joshua answered before entering willingly. But the truth was, he hesitates so much deep inside.
Entering the humble house of the village chief, Grego immediately offered Joshua to sit on a bamboo sofa in the living room and asked his son to bring them drinks and snacks.