(---)
"Your appearance has changed again, Fau. Or, would you prefer for me to call you Grandpa?" Julian asked.
Like before, Faustus was in his elderly appearance. His back was hunched slightly, his blonde hair white, and his facial hair white as well. His skin sagged, wrinkly.
"Yeah, whatever. Just call me Faustus."
The pair walked on the crowded stone sidewalk.
"Hey, I've been wondering. Why do you... switch between ages? Be honest, this time."
Faustus looked at Julian, confused. But, he dropped it.
"I don't know, man. I guess I just like to have fun."
"Hm."
The two continued.
"Say, old man. Could you register as my guardian?"
"Is that what you were waiting to say this whole time?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you need me to register as your guardian?"
"So I can go back to school. It's in Sar."
"Sar?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're about to say. 'That's like, 2000 kilometers away, and you need a boat!"
"..."
"But here's the thing, old man. I know how to man a boat. I'm already allowed in the school, so you won't have to pay. I just need you to register as my guardian."
"Sounds far enough."
"And- huh?"
"Sure. I'll do it for you."
"Wow. I expected you to-"
"BUT!"
"Damn it!"
"You'll have to do some labor for me."
...
..
.
Faustus threw a pickax onto the floor.
"What's that for?" Julian asked.
"You don't see what's in front of you?" Faustus pointed. In front of Julian and Faustus, a cave presented itself. Rocks were glowing on the inside.
"What are those things?" Julian asked again.
"It's a cave."
"I'm talking about the glowing stuff!"
"Oh. Those are mana stones."
What Faustus said to Julian before suddenly popped into his head.
"Oh! Wow, they look exactly like what one would expect. I'm not sure how I didn't think of that before."
"2 years."
"Huh?"
"You're gonna be working here for 2 years."
"..."
. . .
. .
.
"Psst."
Cherva jumped, hearing the sudden noise. He looked down. It was a talking hand.
Currently, he was in a tightly packed forest, with little to no sunlight.
"What the... hell?"
"Oh, please. Don't act like you haven't seen a talking hand before."
"..."
"I can sense it. Your power. It's similar to mine."
"What're you talking about, woman?"
"You too, you're a bearer of sin, right?"
Cherva picked up the hand. "You got a sudden boost of power as well?"
"Mmh... yeah. Something like that. There are others like us. We have to unify them."
"How are we gonna do that?"
"First things first, you need to find all my body parts. Then, we need to find Envy. She can find the sins the best."
"Another girl? Jeez. This is-"
The roar of several orcs could be heard. The hand slipped into Cherva's pocket.
"Defeat those orcs, first. I would like to see if you're worthy."
"Why should I prove myself to you?"
"When two sins are near each other, they'll become stronger. If you have all the sins with you, you'll become extremely strong."
"..."
Cherva pulled his sword out. There were seven orcs.
[Cast: Blaze Step]
In less than a tenth of a second, the distance between him and the first orc was cleared. The orcs eyes hadn't even moved yet.
[Cast: Inferno Thrust]
Cherva pierced his blade into the chest of the orc, right into the heart. The skin around most of the chest melted, along with the heart, the ribcage, and the lungs.
The orc fell to the ground. The six others came charging at Cherva.
[Cast: Flame Territory]
The 5 meters around Cherva began to heat up. It had rained before, so the dirt was wet. Steam started rising from the ground.
[Cast: Heat Trident]
A trident of flames formed in Cherva's hand. He held it with an icepick grip tightly, wielding leather gloves.
He spun around, gathering momentum. Then, he struck the trident into the second orc's abdomen. He pulled up until it reached the orc's chest. A fatal blow.
Cherva jumped into the air.
"It's awfully hot."
The hand in his pocket spoke out.
"Shut up. You're distracting me."
He held his sword tightly, with two hands.
The orcs were already hot due to the [Flame Territory], and their movement was starting to be sluggish.
In a single swoop, Cherva sliced through two heads.
"Three left to go."
"Aren't you gonna use your gifts?"
"Oh. Right."
[Greed's Cast: Ignite]
The rest of the orcs were set on fire, from a single glance.
"Amazing!" the hand crawled out.
"Hey, you know about this sin stuff, right?"
"Yeah."
"If I'm the sin of greed... why aren't my abilities greed-like?"
"You haven't unlocked them yet. Eventually, like me, you'll unlock your ability."
"Hm."
"Now, let's go on and find the rest of my body parts!"