On a bright morning, Jin woke up in his modest home, feeling the usual pain in his back.
With a typical sigh, he muttered, "I hate this bed," before pushing himself into a sitting position.
Despite his weak and pale appearance, 14-year-old Jin was still pretty good-looking. He had long, silky white hair that reached his shoulders and faint blue eyes, he is just a handsome young male.
Jin groaned as he got out of bed to see his grandfather Adrian before starting his daily job of collecting herbs and tilling the soil.
Standing at the kitchen entrance, he said, "Good morning, Grandpa. How are you?"
Adrian, 65 years old with black hair and dark eyes, had a very healthy body for his age. He was singing and whistling while preparing food and stopped to greet his grandson with a warm, kind smile.
"Good morning, Jin. How are you?"
Jin replied with a tired sigh, "I'm fine, but I'd be better if I had a better bed than this stupid one."
Adrian adjusted his cooking apron as he continued with his cooking. "Well, you need to save some money to get a new bed. Anyway, today's meal will be delicious, so make sure to come back early after you finish collecting herbs."
Jin smiled, leaning against the wall, "Oh, look at this old grandpa bragging about his cooking."
Adrian laughed and pointed at Jin with a cooking spoon. "How rude, boy."
Jin tilted his head and said, "Anyway, I'm heading to the public bath to wash up first, then I'll collect herbs. See you later."
"Take care of yourself," his grandfather waved the spoon at him as he returned to cooking.
Jin lived in a quite poor neighborhood in Anvil, a city where luxuries like private baths were out of hands, so he usually went to the public bath used by other poor people of Anvil.
Anvil was located in the far north of a continent called Marta. it was known for its abundant crops, especially medicinal herbs that traders exported to distant southern and western regions during the summer.
Although Anvil was small compared to other cities in Marta, it had a population of no less than two million people. The large population size compared to the city's size made a huge problems led to food shortages and resource depletion.
The population pressure also created a wide social gap, with the poor people making up around 64% of the population. And the wealthier minority, who held power and weapons, made up the remaining 36%.
People moved through their daily lives on Anvil's cobbled streets, where most buildings were painted dark brown colors. In the northern part of the city there are the farmland and homes of farmers, while the southern part was filled with buildings and busy markets.
The eastern side have the main castle with guards and government buildings, while the western side had factories and workshops where artisans worked there in various trades like blacksmithing.
The city is surrounded by a massive 16-meter high wall with military units stationed on top of it for observation and defense. Soldiers took turns guarding the walls during the evening and morning everyday.
Also the city always smelled of herbs and plants, making it a peaceful and comfortable place to live for many people, including Jin.
Jin was generally a solitary person who had no friends and he was really bad at social skills which led him have no friends.
He enjoyed reading books and historical and fantasy stories so much that he dreamed of having his own library one day.
Sometimes, his special white hair attracted playful comments from the city children, who called him "Grandpa Jin." Others people simply referred to him as Adrian's grandson.
Jin arrived at one of the city's public baths, a modest building with steam rising from its wooden frame, filled with elderly people and others taking a bath. He took off his clothes and jumped into the water, feeling waves of relief wash over his tired body.
He smiled and thought, "Ah, this is so relaxing. It's truly bliss. Maybe one day when i will be rich, I'll have my own private bath, hehe."
While Jin was relaxing, an elderly man with gray hair sat beside him and started a conversation with him . "Ah hey, you're Adrian's grandson, right? How are the herbs this season?"
Jin looked at him and sighed "Oh, they're growing as usual."
The old man chuckled awkwardly "Ah haha, yes, my name is Ben and I work with your grandfather."
Jin splashed the water on his face then said. "Ah, nice to meet you, Ben. Is there something you need from me?"
"No, no, I just wanted to say hello."
Jin tilted his head into the water. "Ah, well, thanks, I guess…"
After spending two hours relaxing in the bath, Jin dressed and then headed to the fields to start his daily job.
He arrived with a basket in his hand, and reached the vast green orchard. There were many crops to be harvested today, such as tomatoes, eggplants, and some medicinal herbs.
He felt a gentle breeze and said, sniffing the surrounding flowers, "What a lovely smell."
Then Jin began collecting the herbs, lost in his thoughts. "Hehe, what if I opened a very large farm? I can't imagine how rich I would be."
While Jin was gathering herbs, he noticed the worried faces of some farmers whispering to each other. Jin felt curious, so he approached them to hear what they were saying.
"Did you hear what happened in the village of Avaghida two days ago?" one of them whispered anxiously.
Another quickly tried to calm him down. "Shh, lower your voice. We shouldn't be talking about this here."
"Come on, we can't just ignore it. You know how quickly rumors spread!"
A third farmer joined them, saying, "You know, I heard that they found torn bodies—and it doesn't look like they were torn apart by wild animals."
"Do you think it was…?" The first farmer bit his teeth nervously.
"Shh, don't say any more, we will be screwed" The second farmer whispered while looking around.
"If the wrong person hears us, we'll be in a huge trouble."
The third farmer spoke, "My cousin lives near Avaghida, and he told me that the village was completely destroyed overnight."
"Those who survived the incident said the creatures that attacked them were ghosts."
"Ghosts? Hah, ghosts wouldn't bother themselves with eating and tearing apart bodies, as you said," the first farmer scoffed.
"Ha, does that mean the culprit is…"
The second farmer interrupted. "Shh, you idiots be quiet! We'll really get ourselves into trouble. Let's go to the tavern and talk there."
As the farmers decided to move their conversation elsewhere, Jin quietly followed them.
"Hmm, it seems their conversation is interesting,"
He kept hidden behind columns and sidewalks to avoid being seen while following them.
They eventually settled in a dimly lit corner of a tavern, where four others were waiting. Jin realized that these men were traders from the outside.
"Traders from outside the city? This is getting more interesting," Jin thought, then hid behind a large barrel of beer to listen closely.
One of the traders, with a look of sadness on his face, said, "I fear it won't be long before those Chaos Creatures reach Anvil."
Another nodded seriously. "Yes, we need to leave as soon as possible."
Their conversation was about the events in Avaghida. Though Jin couldn't hear much due to the distance, he caught some details of their discussion.
"We lost good men there," said one trader, shaking his head regretfully.
Another cursed. "Have you heard about those who fled the city? They're all in crazy; they've lost their minds!"
"Enough, let's focus on what's important now," interrupted the first trader.
"We need to focus on leaving soon because if those creatures invade Anvil, we're all f*cked."
Jin put his hand on his chin, thinking, "What are these chaos creatures? Are they some kind of wolves or something like that?"
From his growing confusion, Jin assumed they were referring to a minor threat, like a group of wild wolves, and decided their concern wasn't a priority for him.
"It's time to head back. The old man will get annoyed if I'm late."
He slipped away unnoticed and headed home with the herbs he had collected. As Jin walked through the streets of Anvil, he felt an unusual tension in the air. People were whispering to each other, and there were more guards patrolling than usual.
"Hm, this is really strange," Jin muttered, looking around.
After a few minutes, Jin arrived home and found his grandfather sitting in his usual chair by the fireplace.
"Hello, I'm back," Jin greeted his grandfather.
His grandfather looked at him with a calm smile. "Welcome back, Jin. Dinner is ready now. Go change your clothes and join me."
Jin changed his clothes and then sat next to his grandfather, enjoying the delicious meal together.
"Hmm, this is really delicious. You've outdone yourself this time, old man."
Adrian laughed. "Didn't I tell you I'm a skilled cook?"
"Hehe, you're right. You're seriously good at that."
As the room filled with the delicious smell of food and the cozy feeling of sitting next to his grandfather, Jin's mind drifted to the disturbing conversation he'd overheard between the farmers, which got him curious.
"Hm, I should probably ask him about this," Jin thought.
Staring at his grandfather, worn-out ceiling, Jin hesitated before speaking.
"Grandpa, do you know what these chaos creatures are?"
Suddenly, Adrian dropped his spoon, his smile disappearing, replaced by a frown and a deep furrow in his brow.
"Where'd you hear about that?" Adrian's eyes locked onto Jin with intensity.
Jin looked back at him. "What's up, old man?"
Adrian grabbed Jin's shoulder hard and shook him, his eyes wide with fear and anger. "Tell me, who told you about this?" Adrian's voice shook.
"Grandpa, what's going on?" Jin asked, confused and worried by his grandfather's strange reaction.
Adrian's face darkened, his calm demeanor replaced by clear fear. "You need to tell me exactly where you heard this, now !"
Feeling the gravity of his grandfather's fear, Jin recounted the conversation he had heard between the traders and farmers in detail.
As he spoke, Adrian's face grew more somber and terrified…