Quinn was what you'd expect from a human child. Energetic, curious and loved by most people. Although he was generally liked by his fellow humans, Quinn was often alienated because of the things he'd randomly say.
Children normally say strange stuff that parents would normally ignore, but not when it came to Quinn. As one of the first humans, his words were taken very seriously.
"Did you know that blood holds a strong connection between our world and the world of the gods? Simply presenting your blood to them allows you to easily communicate with them," Quinn told a young boy his age as he carried a small crow in his hands.
The boy backed away. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Why wouldn't I? Blood is natural and it's only natural for humans to bleed for their gods," Quinn replied as he smiled an innocent smile.
The boy who stood before him widened his eyes in pure horror. Then, his father tapped him on the shoulder and walked him away from Quinn. Then, the man gazed at Quinn in disgust and furrowed his brows in frustration.
Quinn tilted his head and wondered why the man had such an expression. He lifted his hand, allowing the crow to fly away from his hand. Then, he looked around him and found yet another person to talk to.
He approached them with a bright smile and proceeded to do the same thing he did with the previous boy. This became a common occurrence and as time passed, the humans began excluding themselves from his presence.
The years went by and Quinn was in his teenage years. His strange tendencies to preach about his ideals on blood and the gods seemed to have no bounds nor could they see no ends.
But, Quinn quickly came to the realisation that the other humans weren't interested in his stories. Not anymore. And so, he decided to focus on befriending the smaller animals. The longer he communicated with them, the easier it became for him to understand them. The same was for the animals.
One particular evening, Quinn was communicating with a black snake with deep green eyes. It slithered around his arm and rested on his hand as he raised it towards the eye level.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong. The others seem to hate me more and more," Quinn said as he spoke to the snake.
"Perhapsss it hasss sssomething... to do with your... interessst in the godsss... and, the humansss themssselvesss," the snake hissed in response.
"I just wish they would get closer to the gods the same way I am. If they did, they'd understand why I speak as plain as I do."
"You aren't... like the other humansss, Quinn. You alone hold... the power to communicate... with our sssupreme rulersss..."
"I wish they were more like me..." said Quinn as he buried his face in his knees.
"... Then, might I... sssuggessst sssomething for you, my dear friend?" the snake inquired. "I wish to return... the kindnesss you've shown me and my eggsss..."
Quinn raised his head and looked at the snake. From that moment, a black cat rested on Quinn's feet while a crow rested on his shoulder.
"Do you know of the garden guarded by the flaming sssword?" the snake curiously asked.
"What of it?" Quinn asked.
"Rumour hasss it... that the one who will pick up the flaming sssword... without burning, holdsss the power of the godsss..."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Pick the sssword up and tessst your worth. The humansss will decide on whether they should follow you or not."
Quinn looked at the snake curiously and tilted his head in curiosity. "I'll do it..."
The next morning, Quinn walked towards the path of the sacred garden guarded by the flaming sword. The humans watched him curiously and wondered what he had been up to now.
That was until they realised he was making a straight path for the sacred garden. More beady eyes looked at Quinn and murmurs spread amongst the humans. He had finally reached the garden, where truth and knowledge hung within the fruits.
"Is he insane? That's going to kill him," one human said.
"Leave him be. He keeps preaching about how he was sent by the gods. Let's see if he'll actually survive," another human replied.
"But..."
One girl, who was Quinn's age, put her hands together and watched him as a worried expression formed on her face. Quinn stepped into the garden and wiped the sweat off his face.
He wasn't nervous. In fact, he was certain that he was the one the gods had sent to lead the humans towards the right path. The reason why he was sweating was behind the flaming sword's scorching heat.
Normal humans couldn't even step as close as 500 feet from the garden without feeling a little hot. Quinn was barely damaged by the flame as he walked towards the flaming sword.
"How is he not dead yet?" a woman inquired.
"That's incredible..." a man said as he watched Quinn get closer and closer to the sword.
Quinn was now face to face with the sword. He reached in for the hilt of the sword and grabbed the sword, slightly burning his palm. Quinn struggled to carry the sword, but the longer he struggled, the easier it became to carry.
A minute later, the flaming sword was in his hands, in all its glory and fire, spitting its heat and flames in every direction. Quinn faced his fellow humans and smiled gently as he walked out of the garden.
The humans were shocked as they saw him emerge with the sword at hand. Low whispers and murmurs emerged amongst the humans as they looked at Quinn.
"My fellow humans, this is proof of the existence of something bigger than ourselves! Shed your blood for the gods and you too shall be able to do menial tasks, such as carrying the flaming sword!" said Quinn as he raised the blade higher.
"This is 'menial' to him?" asked a curious human.
"If that's the case, I too wish to get closer to the gods!" another human added as she smiled gently.
"Me too!" another chimed in.
"I'm in too! Teach me, Quinn!"
One by one, the number of people who would finally listen to Quinn grew. This made him happy. So happy, he smiled brightly and held the sword tighter. But, not everyone decided to join him.
This was fine. He was okay with having a few followers to begin his teachings. But, the other humans had no idea the type of man he would become as time went on.
[Present Day...]
The flame slowly grew weaker and lost its spark. Its size grew smaller and it eventually dissipated. Hunter stared at the empty floor and sighed in exasperation. He turned to System Rosana and furrowed his brows as he did.
"What the hell was that?" he inquired in an angry tone of voice.
[Whatever do you mean, Hunter Quinn?]
"Don't play coy with me, System! I thought this was a scroll on the world's most dangerous dynasty. Why did I only see like a prologue of this?"
[Because that's precisely what it was. There are 7 scrolls of the Quinn Dynasty. You just read the first one]
"How am I supposed to find the others then?" inquired Hunter.
[Simply explore more dungeons. The more dungeons you look into, the more scrolls you're bound to find. The only way to cure your curiosity is to keep searching]
Hunter rolled his eyes and sighed. "I suppose that is something you'd say. But, I think I'll turn in for the time being. I'm feeling a little exhausted after that episode I just watched."
[What do you mean by "turn in?" You still need to do your daily objectives. Because you didn't do them for two days, they've been quadrupled]
"Quadrupled?! That's inhumane!" exclaimed Hunter.
[Ignore them again and they'll just quadruple with what they currently have. Just do your damn objectives. If you can stay awake for 2 days, you can atleast complete your objectives]
"I hate you, System Rosana."
[You don't have to like me because my job is to make you stronger. So, are you going to work out before midnight or will you continue crying?]
"Crying doesn't sound too bad. It's been a while since I've had a good tear jerk session," retorted Hunter.
[Wait until we find the fifth scroll]
"Huh? I was kidding. Kidding."
[Black Magic Files Physical Training Regimen
- Run for 40km
- Do 200 pushups
- Do 400 squats
- Do 200 situps
Rewards For Completion:
- $4,000]
"I feel like an anime main character whenever I see just how ridiculous this training regimen is. No regular person can complete this without any problems," said Hunter as he grabbed his earphones.
[To be fair, you are not a regular person, Hunter Quinn]
"Why, thank you kindly, System Rosana. Your compliments always make my day," he replied sarcastically.
[Happy to help]
"Die."