Since birth, Lein lived without knowing his parents. He was first found at the door of the orphanage with a basket and a thin little blanket; naked and cold. I don't know what the reason for those damn parents is, but according to many people's guess, it's because they are still young and far from mature.
Because of that, this was a new thing for Lein, the first time he felt the love of a dad. Without realizing it, his love for Anderlecht also appeared at the same time.
Lein returned and sat next to Anderlecht's body. He still had the metamount in his hands. That should be enough to make him a little stronger, to at least bring one of the Barbarian race to death with him.
However, before Lein could pour the metamount into his mouth, the sound of horseshoes came from the north. It didn't stop there, the sound became more numerous, coming from another direction.
"Hey, Kid."
The voice came from the iron warrior riding on the black one-horned horse. On the warrior's left arm, there was a black royal crest wreathed by a red rose. Seeing that, Lein's eyes immediately widened because he knew exactly where the warrior came from.
"Warrior of the Valckenier Kingdom!"
In the game Malivic World, Anderlecht's alchemy rescue quest was created by the Valckenier Kingdom. Actually, Lein completed the quest without knowing the reason and purpose of it. Lein is the type of person who enjoys the game much more than the storyline. He almost completely ignored the story of Malivic World and only focused on completing quests and level up.
The iron warrior dismounted from the horse. He then walked towards Lein while saying, "Is that man lying there the alchemist Anderlecht?" At every step of the warrior, there was a sound of scraping between the metal which seemed to tell Lein how heavy the uniform was. It was only after they were only a dozen or so steps apart that Lein could see his face. The warrior has an oval face shape and sea blue eyes. His hair was curly and long, but that actually made him look dashing and handsome. He is about 1.9 meters tall with a strapping posture.
"R-right, Sir." After a while, Lein gained insight into the identity of the warrior. He was Stein Thormund, one of the Viscounts who was part of the Anderlecht rescue team. This was the first time Lein realized that Anderlecht was an important person. Stein Thormund even took part in his rescue; a man capable of mastering swordsman and magic to a terrifying degree. Even though it was still far from Artemis Bastian, its strength was capable of killing a level 30 Barbarian in one strike.
After Lein thought about it some more, he also realized that Anderlecht was indeed a talented alchemist. Successfully creating a metamount that has a stronger effect than his creations in one try is one of the reasons.
On the other hand, after receiving confirmation from Lein, Stein lifted Anderlecht's body onto his shoulder and turned back towards his dark horse; ignoring Lein completely, like he was never there. Simultaneously, iron warriors on smaller black horses appeared from many directions; 24 cavalrymen.
There was an expression of relief on each warrior's face when he saw Stein carrying Anderlecht's body. With this, their mission has been declared complete. Together with their Commander Stein, there was no longer any doubt about Anderlecht's safety. Being beside Stein Thormund was even better than being protected by The 12 Best Warriors of the Asmovius Kingdom. To that end, considering this as mission completion was not an exaggeration.
Stein got on the horse while throwing Anderlecht's body up the horse's rear. However, before he could leave there, one of his warriors said, "What about that kid, Sir? It looks like he's the son of that man."
Hearing that, Stein wore an annoyed expression before replying, "Our only mission is saving Anderlecht, not saving his family. Don't make me talk any further. Let's go!"
The warriors all nodded and left following Stein from behind. Meanwhile, Lein just stood there alone accompanied by the dark, spooky forest and a bottle of Metamount.
"... What just happened?"
How impertinent was Stein Thormund! Not! Besides being impertinent, he is also a scoundrel with no sense of humanity. Leaving a child alone in this dark forest? Where is your conscience, Damn it?! Is there a human more evil than you? At least take me to a peaceful village anywhere to live there!
Lein cursed more after that. However, he soon realized that just sitting there while voicing complaints would only await his own death. With unsteady steps, he walked towards the forest, going deeper, looking for a place close to the river.
[STATS]
Name: Andes
Levels : 9
Age : 8 years
Race: Human
Class : Swordsman Lv. 1
Title : -
Skills : - Dancing Blade Moon. Lv. 2
- Butterfly Dance Blade. Lv. 1
- Blade of Destruction Lv. 1
- Fillen Asfort's Secret Sword Art Lv. 1
[HP : 1400/210] [MP : 40]
Strengths : 13
Agility : 8
Sense : 7
Vitality : 7
[Remaining Points : 0]
With Metamount, Lein should be able to increase almost half of his current stats. However, according to him, it is a waste. Waiting for him to get to level 30+ is the right choice for that. Without Anderlecht, it shouldn't be a big problem to save himself.
"I know the Barbarian race and monsters more than anyone. With this knowledge, hiding and surviving for the next two and a half months shouldn't be a problem."
The Barbarian race's invasion of the entire Asmovius Kingdom lasted for a month and a half. In that great war, the victory was won by the Asmovius Kingdom. With the natural and human resources remaining, the spoils of war, the new administrative territory, it would take another month for the Asmovius Kingdom to recover from the desolation. From then on, they started establishing a school of magic and swords to seek protection for their Asmovius Kingdom, as well as becoming a replacement for the 12 best warriors who fell. Lein intended to take one of those opportunities to find other skills and level up. However...
"I have traveled a distance of about 1 mile, but I did not find the slightest sign of me near the river."
The pain in his ribs was getting worse. As far as he went, Lein was also impaled by thorns and tree branches on his arms and legs, causing him to lose 30 HP. Did he need to retract his previous sentence? If this kept up, wouldn't his death just be a few moments longer?
Lein kept walking, but instead of the smell and sound of running streams he found, but trees that were getting bigger and oddly shaped. It felt foreign and terrifying, making him feel completely lost and lonely. However, Lein still believed in one adage, effort would never betray results. Even if he didn't find a river, he could at least find a safe location like an abandoned house or something.