He slowly walked through the town, looking around at the different shops and stalls lined up along the street. He had plenty of time since he was immortal, so he might as well enjoy this brief stroll before he isolated himself to fulfill his wish. The town of Azleu was abuzz with joy and sound.
He saw children playing on the street, their parents selling wares on the street, a few carts passed by him, being pulled by oxen. All in all, it was a busy and lively street, full of joy and peace. The boy laughed as he saw a child prank his friend by slamming a pie in his face. This was the place he was meant to protect, the world he was meant to save from destruction. Thankfully his wish would help him do just that. It would take a little-no scratch that, a long time but he would still help in taking down the demon lord eventually.
He made his way out of the town and slowly started looking for a place where he would be able to isolate himself and not be disturbed by other humans. To fulfill his wish, he did not need to deal with the drama that people create. He continued to take in the scenery while he walked further and further away. Eventually, the town was far behind him and he was just walking on an empty dirt road. He looked and found that the path would soon be split in two.
He came to the crossroads and looked at the sign there-it said that one road would lead to "Erentale Town" and the other path would lead to "The Forest of Decadence". He knew which path he would go to, a forest was a lot more deserted than a town!
As he started to walk toward the forest a voice called out "Hey, wait!"
He stopped and turned towards the voice, and he saw a young girl travelling with an old man in a carriage pulled by horses. The girl got out of the carriage and walked towards him. "Where do you think you're going? Don't you know the forest of decadence is an extremely dangerous place? The average person cannot set foot in there!"
The boy just stared at her for a while "Umm, thank you for your concern but I'm fine" saying so he started walking again but was stopped by the girl again. "Didn't you hear what I said? Turn back now!"
He sighed, this is exactly the drama he didn't want to deal with, even if it was done out of concern. So he just said "Where I go is none of your business so please leave me alone".
Before the girl could reply, he bolted. "HEY!" The girl shouted, but it was too late, he had already gotten out of her reach. The girl stomped back to her carriage and complained to her father "Father, that rude boy didn't listen to the sincere advice I gave him! He will definitely die in that forest!"
Her father just smiled "It's ok my dear, there are people who learn lessons the hard way. Some people just need to experience injury and setbacks to fully understand the advice of others" he called her back to the carriage and they continued on their journey.
The boy looked back to check whether those people were following him. When he found out that they weren't, he sighed in relief and continued his way to the entrance of the forest. He grinned eerily as he looked at the huge forest in front of him and leapt straight into the darkness.
In the castle, the heroes party, as it had been named, had started their training to figure out who would take on which role in the party. Arthur and Lyla were dubbed as the two heroes of the party, even though they had protested against it with vigor.
Arthur decided to take up the role of the main damage dealer with a longsword in his hand, while Lyla had decided that she would protect the team by being a tank and lugging around a giant shield. The rest of the party tried out different weapons and tested their magic power and element before they made a decision.
Finally, the team was ready and including the reps the had 3 damage dealers - with a longsword, saber and rapier, 2 healers, 4 mages - a fire mage, wind mage, a dual ice and lightning mage and a earth mage, 3 rangers - 2 with bows and 1 with a rifle, 2 assassins - one of them held dual daggers and another just kept poisoned needles with him. Last but not least, a rare beast tamer emerged within the heroes party.
He was pretty much an all rounder who could help deal damage, help protect them, help in reconnaissance, working in tandem with the assassins to figure out the enemy in advance. These reasons all contributed to the popularity of the beast taming profession, however, few had the talent to become one, making them highly sought after. It was extremely lucky that the heroes party managed to include a beast tamer. This would make all their battles a lot smoother. Of course, it wouldn't be instant, beast tamers are generally very weak at the start as they would not have many beasts tamed, however as they tame more beasts, so would their strength and usefulness increase.
They of course had to slowly get used to their weapons and their abilities, so they took some time to practice with their chosen weapons. The king watched them from his balcony. As he watched their awkward movements and stumbling steps, he sighed and called for his maid. The maid rushed in "What may I do for you, Your Majesty?"
"Go down there and help them, we do not have enough time for them to slowly figure out to battle. While you're down there, teach them some battle formations as well"
"Yes, Your Majesty"
The maid leapt down from the balcony and fell 5 stories. She then landed gracefully on the ground without so much as a sound. The kids looked shocked at first, and then started clapping.
The maid smiled.
"STOP YOUR CLAPPING AND GET YOUR ASSES IN SHAPE! NOW!"
The horrifed kids immediately went back to their practice. The maid's face had contorted into something even their nightmares could not create.
Once they glanced at the maid again all they saw was a pleasant smile on her face.
Each and every one of those kids shuddered, sweat pouring down their faces.