Dear boy,
I hope this letter finds you well. If you are reading this, chances are I had already departed from this world. Otherwise I would had taken back this letter without you noticing it. You need to increase your perception, boi! It was way too easy to slip inside your dougi without you even realising it.
Do forgive my horrible handwriting as I lack of time. You are probably wondering why I prepared such a letter. The hedgehog brought a letter to me from the Elementalist who informed me that a certain infamous assassin was seen wandering around the city recently. You are probably not aware about the massacre of the Hawthorn family that was ordered by the Queen of the City Of Pines. Call me paranoid, but I needed to make sure that you made it safely to the city.
If anything were to happen to me, do not seek revenge. Live your life to the fullest. I've already lived a ripe old age with no regrets. Now is your time to explore this world instead. Make your parents proud.
Your one & only,
Ojii-san
PS: Do not expose your Hawthorn name. Forgive me as it left my mind that I should had informed you about it before you left.
PPS: If you are in need of more money, you know where I hid them.
PPPS: Burn my secret books, please. DON'T READ THEM!!
W— what is with the content of this letter? Why was grandfather expecting the worst? Who is this infamous assassin that would make grandfather prepare such a letter in advance? When did he even slipped it inside my dougi? Who is this "Elementalist" that he is referring to? Damn it, so many questions but no answers.
I crunched the letter as I gripped my fingers tightly. Tears were forming around the edges of my eyes without me even noticing it.
Damn it, just damn it. Grandfather, this is not the farewell that I had envisioned for you. How can I bring myself to forget about you without knowing your fate? You were the one who raised me and my only family member in this world. No, there is just no way that I can let it go. I need to know who is this infamous assassin and I am counting on tomorrow to get some answers.
There was still a couple of hours before dawn arrives. I wiped my tears and laid on the bed, wondering if I can actually catch some shuteye when I am feeling so distraughted right now, as though someone is tugging on the strings of my heart. I gripped my chest and closed my eyes without blowing the candles as I was not expecting to sleep.
But it turns out I did as I had a very strange dream. A white blueish horse appeared in front of me albeit looking all blurry. I could not focused my vision no matter how hard I tried. It was talking to me but the sound was really muffled. Seemingly confused on what to do, I asked what it wanted.
"Are you trying to talk to me? Who are you? Do I know you?" I asked.
All I heard was muffled noises replying me.
"What are you?" I asked louder.
Once again, muffled mumbling noises replied me again.
"What do you want?!" I shouted at as I am confused on what it wants from me.
"WAKE UP!" was what I heard which prompted me to abruptly sat up from my bed. Not a moment later, I heard someone knocking on my door.
"Zen, are you awake? We're heading downstairs for breakfast now," said a voice that sounded like Lily.
I replied her with an "Okay" and dragged myself out of bed. Ugh, my head is pounding right now. I was certain that I had not drank any alcohol or something. I made my way to wash my face using the basin provided and got ready to head downstairs.
I grabbed Inazuma and instinctively dropped it. Ouch, what was that? Did it just shocked me? I walked closer to Inazuma which is now on the floor and poked it a couple of times with my index finger. Alright, no more electric shock. That was odd, why did it even shocked me in the first place?
I made my way downstairs and had breakfast with John and Lily. Once again, Lily had paid for our meals. I really need to get my coins changed as soon as possible. And once again they left some leftovers on their plate which I held back in reprimanding them. Emphasis on tried, really hard!
Alright, let's focus on the main objective today. What I need to do is to meet up with Rick and head to the designated location where grandfather was. Right, let's go.
***
We arrived at the southern entrance where Rick and his party was already waiting. Rick noticed us approaching and waved at us.
"So, are you ready to go? Let's get this done before noon approaches," he said.
"Sure, let's go," I replied as I flicked the gold coin to him which he catch it smoothly with his hand. I am so close to finding out what had happened to grandfather. Just a moment more and I will have my answer.
So begin the short journey where we reached the location by around mid morning. Nothing interesting happened on the way which built up my suspense even further with every steps. So near yet so far.
Huh? What's going on? It would appear that there are a bunch of crowded people in front of us. Seems to be the location where grandfather fought with the stranger. Cold sweats began to formed at the back of my neck. I ran as fast as I could towards the front, pushing aside a whole bunch of adult legs as they were crowding the whole area.
Oh lord, what in the world happened here? There is blood literally everywhere. Part of the landscapes were crumbling apart with deep grooves everywhere on the ground. The surrounding trees were shattered or destroyed horribly as well. It would seemed that their battle took them deeper into the forest. I hope these are not grandfather's blood but his opponent instead.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. A distracted mind will only serve to hide the truth. Follow the evidence that is present here and you will figure out what happened. I opened my eyes and examined the surroundings. Let's see, there are bloods at several locations and judging from the direction of the splatter, it would seemed that both of them are wounded. Based on the visible footprints, they had proceeded deeper into the forest. Alright, let's go. Or that was what I thought when I was suddenly lifted into the air.
"Hey! No stepping on the scene! Who even let this kid in?!" shouted the soldier.
He was lifting me up by my dougi. I don't have time to entertain this soldier. The fate of my grandfather is inside the forest, damn it! I turned my head towards the soldier and glared at him. And guess who it was, it's Earl.
"Please put me down. I am investigating on what happened to my grandfather," I told Earl. It would seemed that he did not took it well.
"Oh lookie here, we got a detective in the midst. Listen here Sherlock, if children were to start running the world then adults would be shaking their legs at home. Go play with a ball or something. We are busy investigating here," said Earl as he tossed me to the ground. Ouch! Damn it, Earl! You'll pay for that!
"Woah woah.. calm down there, Mister Soldier," Rick rushed over to calm the situation.
He placed his arm around Earl's shoulder and began whispering something to him as they turned their backs towards me. I attempted to pull myself up but John lifted me up immediately by the arm. Why does it seemed as though I weigh nothing? Even John can drag or pull me around without so much as batting an eye. And he is around my height and size! I admit that I am small framed and perhaps a little underweight but I am not that light.
After some minor whispering, it would seemed that Rick and Earl had come to an agreement. Probably involving some bribing along the way.
"Alright, alright fine. You can follow me into the forest. Touch nothing and don't step on any evidence!" shouted Earl as he gestured us to follow him.
We headed into the forest following after Earl, making sure to avoid the blood splatters on the ground. There were lesser evidence of blood as we headed deeper into the forest which I am taking it as good news. The less there is the better, I thought to myself.
We reached a site where trees were pushed aside creating a clearing in the middle. A couple of soldiers were crouched around as though they were searching for something. It was then a soldier rushed towards Earl in a hurry holding something wrapped in a white cloth. My heart began thumping as fear and anticipation engulfed me.
***
Zen seems to be getting restless as we headed closer to the site. He was running with the same speed he used to saved me before towards the crowd. I doubt there are many adventurers who could match his speed despite his age and I'm relatively sure that he does not know it himself.
From what he told me before, he spent all his time in the forbidden forest and that had caged him from the vast knowledge of this world. He will need to learn more. Perhaps I can tutor him. We can meet up together and I can teach him about currencies, languages and the different races of this world. Maybe I can teach him a thing about women too. He was so cute when I hugged him yesterday. His face was flushed when he pushed me away after he asked that question. What am I saying, I'm sure I was blushing too.
Hang on, what am I thinking? Begone filthy thoughts! I waved my hands above my head to shoo the thoughts away. Meeting up with him would meant that it'll be a date. I told him very well that I will get over him. Who wants to be hung over someone who is shorter than me anyway. Not to mention way younger than me. Besides, he is a human. I'll outlive him within a century. Hmph.
Hey, what the? Put Zen down! What the hell? Did you seriously just threw him on the ground?! Alright, that's it. Now I'm angry. You are lucky that John is holding me back. Just you wait, Earl! Your time will come.
Now what are they whispering about? Oh, it would seemed that they had reached to an agreement. Way to go, Rick. I knew we could count on you.
We headed into the forest after Rick gave Earl some money. Even with all their whispering, I could hear exactly what they were saying. I guess since Rick had received a gold coin, spending a little to bribe Earl is child's play.
We stopped at what looked like some horrifying scene. There were a lot of blood splattered all over the area. Not to mention the destruction here could only be described as having two giant monsters fighting with each other.
The soldiers around were chatting among themselves as they were searching for something. It would seemed as though they have no idea who this belongs to? An item? Or perhaps a body part? I do hope it belonged to that weirdo. Hate that guy.
A soldier walked up to Earl, holding something in a white covered cloth filled with blood stains. Earl opened for a peek and sighed. He glanced at Zen with squinting eyes. Is he in a dilemma on whether he should show Zen what is underneath the cloth? Oh, it would seemed like he is going to show him. Wait, what is that? Is that.. a hand? Cut right above the wrist too. Ugh, gross. I wonder who's hand is that?
Is it just me, or is the air suddenly getting colder? That's odd. I can feel cold air enveloping me all of a sudden. The hair at the back of my neck is starting to stand for no reason. What is going on? Why is there a sudden shift in temperature? I turned to look around and everyone seems to be fixated on Zen. Everyone, even John is looking at him with their hands gripping the hilt of their sword. Wait, why? What did Zen even do?! Why does it looked as though you all are going to attack him?!
I focused on Zen and finally understood why they are acting this way. There was dark aura emitting from him. A different kind of aura that the innkeeper emitted but much much worse. This felt sinister and I can't shake the thought that he is going to kill everyone here. As time went on, my legs and hands started to shiver. I can see cold breath appearing as I exhaled. What should I do? If I don't do something, everyone is going to kill Zen. Either that or he's gonna end up killing us instead!
***
I opened the cloth expecting a head. I was totally prepared for the worst outcome. Yet, I severely underestimated the situation. The moment I saw that hand, something snapped inside of me. I knew who's hand it was the moment I saw it. It belonged to grandfather. Those wrinkles gave it away along with a birth mark that I had noticed a long time ago. My vision began to turn blurry as dark thoughts filled my head. I lost control and something took over. There was someone or something screaming inside my head demanding for blood, demanding me to kill. I must kill whoever did this. I need to kill him. I— NEED— BLOO...
"ZEN!!!!"
I snapped back to reality. That shout had brought back my consciousness. I looked around and saw that Earl had moved some distance away from me with his sword at the ready. That's odd, I swore that he was right in front of me just a moment ago. What happened? And why did he unsheathed his sword and pointing it at me? I continued to look around, wondering what the others were doing. Huh? Everyone else is holding their weapons at the ready too! And they are glaring at me!
"Uhh— what is going on?" I asked all of them.
Everyone tensed down after hearing me speak. Did I do something earlier that made them react this way? Hell, even John pointed his short sword at me.
Lily ran towards me and stared directly at my face angrily. She was pouting and it would seemed that she wants to scold me. On second thought, she is going to scold me.
"What the hell was that?! Why did you do that?!" shouted Lily.
"W— what are you talking about? I didn't do anything. I was just staring at the hand," I explained.
"You were doing something weird that made everyone freaked out! Everyone almost attacked you out of fear, Zen!" she continued.
Goodness, she can be loud and noisy when she gets angry.
"No kidding, I had cold sweats thinking about it. See, my hands are still shaking. That was some crazy murderous intent, Zen," said John with a dry laughter.
Murder intent? I released that when I lost myself?
"You're really something else, kid. To be able to use "that" without learning how to use it. Not even experienced adventurers can use that effectively in combat," chuckled Rick as he came over.
"Am I the only one here who is confused about what's going on? I really didn't do anything. I just— I lost myself for a second there," I explained to them.
"If you're done chatting among yourselves, do you mind leaving us alone now? We are just simple soldiers doing our job here, not to experience something like that!" shouted Earl.
"Ok ok, we'll be leaving. Is there nothing else you can find around here? I can vouch that the hand belonged to my grandfather. I am certain of it," I said to Earl.
"There is nothing else we can find here. From the look of things, two powerful people fought here and that's all we know. Only this hand was left here. Strangely though, there are no footprints leading away from the crime scene so it is difficult for us to trace which way they went," explained Earl.
It would seemed that the stranger had won. Damn it, grandfather— where are you now? Your body is not here. Why would the stranger even take your body? To bury it or to continue torturing him for information? Both possibilities angered me further. I am just as confused as I was yesterday since barely anything was answered for me.
We gave our thanks to Earl and proceeded to head back to the city. There was nothing else that we can do here since there is no trail for us to follow. But one thing is clear for me, I have a main objective now and I intend to see it through. No, I won't be like a certain vault dweller that goes around on side objectives instead of focusing on the main objective. I will focus on it! Unfortunately, I proved myself wrong.
Main Objective: Gather information about the infamous assassin and grandfather's whereabouts.
My first task is to get stronger and choosing a guild is going to help me with that. I will also need to find out who this "Elementalist" is, which seems to have some deep connection with grandfather. Let us see which one comes first.
As we were walking back to the city, Rick came up and decided to have a chat with me.
"Hey, little man. You need to learn to control your emotions before you lose control of yourself again, otherwise someone close to you might end up getting hurt. It affects your surroundings, y'know?" said Rick.
"It's been a while since I faced with such intense fear. Not to mention from a little kid. Gosh, what has this world turned into?" he continued.
"What do you mean? Are you telling me that someone had used this— "technique" before?" I asked him.
"Well, I won't exactly call it a technique. It is a more like a "state" that causes other people around you to feel what you're feeling. Not only is it unpleasant, it is even capable of making people lose control. And to answer your question, it is not exactly "someone" who used it. It was more like "something" instead. A demon we encountered before used something similar. Demons are tough creatures that are known for their lust for blood. They can even instil fear even more than a Shadow Knight like me. So much for the pride of Dark Guild in using spells to de-buffing our enemies," explained Rick with a sigh.
"You're in the Dark Guild? Really? You don't exactly give off any dark vibes. Not to mention your clothings are so colourful," I told him. I thought being in the Dark Guild meant that you are gloomy, gothic or emotional.
"Haha! Clothings and vibes doesn't represent which guild you're from, little man. Joining a guild means that you can learn their skills and follow the path that the guild had set out for you. Well, no one is stopping you should you wish to role-play the guild you joined. Oh hey, you should join the Dark Guild since you already have that— "state" in you. Sort of fits your fighting prowess in instilling fear upon your enemies," he said with a thumbs up.
I have no idea which guild suits me more. My father was in the Light Guild while mom was in the Viking Guild. How did I even obtained this "fear state" thingy that everyone is talking about?
"I'll consider my choice after I've checked out the other guilds," I smiled at him.
"Well, from what I can see, you're definitely not fit to be a viking. Your general strength is kind of low with your petite body. What's next, you're not using a spear so the Dragon Guild is out of the question. You can forget about joining the Elemental Guild as they have way too many requirements to even be allowed to join them. All that is left is the Dark or Light Guild," he shrugged.
Damn it, does everyone have to be so blunt in pointing out my height or size? Geez. Alright, from what he explained, there are a total of 5 different guilds. Wait a minute, Elemental Guild? Is that where the Elementalist is? Perhaps I should check out that guild and ask some questions. A glimmer of hope, finally!
"Oh, don't you worry about the test. It will be you facing some rookies. It doesn't matter if you win or lose as what the Dark Lord sees is your growing potential. At least, that is what the initiation test is for when it comes to the Dark Guild. You'll pass the test, on that I have no doubt about it," he gave me a thumbs up once more.
He seems to be hell bent in asking me to join his guild. Like some kind of pitch sale which I am feeling kinda sus right now.
"We can head to the townhouse after this, Zen. They will explain to us on what each guild represents, offer and which is more suitable for us," mentioned Lily as she was ahead of us. Seriously, nothing escapes her ears.
"Where did you get that information from?" I asked her.
"Geez, did you forget? The innkeeper told us after we had our dinner. It was on the house after we were done eating. Just some way for her to earn money instead of telling every new adventurers straight up," she said.
Information at the cost of a meal? I call that a good deal.
"Oh right, you were talking to Rick when the innkeeper explained to us. Sorry about that," she said with a cheeky smile.
Damn it, she can be adorable when she wants to be. I think my heart skipped a bit.
***
"Mom! Dad said you were cheeky and adorable!" shouted my daughter.
"What the hell? Hey! We don't even know whether Lily is your mother. Don't get me in trouble, please," I told her.
***
We reached the city's southern entrance by noon. So much for being a quick journey. We were about to part ways when Rick came up to me.
"Hey, sorry about your grandfather. From the looks of it, he was fighting someone strong; judging from the condition of landscapes. But since there is no body found, there is still a chance that he is still kicking out there," said Rick as he handed me back my gold coin.
I pushed his hand back. Not only did he wasted his time following me, I appreciate his effort in agreeing to escort me in the first place. He could had just walked away or just outright running away after taking my coin. I will not overlook his good nature. I can see that he was taken aback that I rejected in taking back the coin.
"Keep it. You were willing to accept an offer from a kid. And for that, I am grateful. Thank you for willingly escort me to check on my grandfather," I bowed to him.
Rick along with the gung-ho female and his other two party members rushed over to stop me from bowing. They were flustered by my action.
"Alright then, we'll be going now. See you when I see you, little man," he winked at me.
"Oh hey, if you do end up choosing the Dark Guild, look for me in the tavern. I'll be sure keep a close eye on you during the test," he added. I just gave him a nod.
As they were walking away, he shouted "Never give up, Zen! Never give up or lose hope! Hahaha!"
What a guy. I do hope we can meet again someday. Who knew that we will end up facing each other in combat.