The next morning, Jin woke up excitedly, as he was going to the academy his parents had graduated from.
His grandfather had already told him about his parents achievements at the academy, which only increased Jin's excitement and pride. He wanted to become like them, no, even better, and accomplish more than they ever did.
Although Jin was naturally a solitary person, he was also extremely ambitious.
He used to dream of becoming a wealthy farmer or a famous librarian. However, his dreams had shifted slightly due to the circumstances he had been through.
His current aspiration was to become a strong, dependable person who could achieve great things, just like his parents and his grandfather, Adrian.
During the rigorous training he had undergone over the past two months with Morgan and Elena, he learned many things about his grandfather Adrian that he had previously been unaware of.
He hadn't known that his grandfather was not just a normal saint but an extremely powerful one too.
Many saints and awakend commanders had trained under him, including Morgan and Elena, and many notable figures of the present time.
Despite his many virtues, few people knew of his existence. He was a reclusive saint who concealed his presence, uninterested in politics or positions. He genuinely loved nature and farming, which was why Morgan hated him.
Morgan had deeply respected him and considered him a paragon of strength and sanctity, but he had become just a farmer.
This did not sit well with Morgan, who grew to hate him for the perceived weakness he had become.
The reason Adrian became weak was due to a fierce battle between him and a legion of other saints against the creatures of chaos.
Among them were his beloved daughter and her dear husband, who were, of course, Jin's parents.
The seventh-level portal was responsible for Adrian's loss of his dear daughter and her husband. He was unable to protect them or defeat the creatures before him.
He watched them die before his eyes, crushed under the feet of a corrupted giant. Since that battle, regret has overshadowed Adrian, who was one of the few awakened in that conflict.
His regret was so profound that the least he could do was raise his dear daughter's child, Jin, and keep him as safe as possible. Therefore, he hid himself and his grandson from the outside world, creating a sanctuary far from all the memories of the past.
Despite the advanced medical field that allowed the awakened to heal severed limbs, as they did with Elena when she returned with her mangled hand, none of the awakened found a true cure for emotions.
The negative emotions Adrian carried made him extremely weak, barely able to fight. This was evident in his battle against the Chaos Lord, who easily tore him apart, even though Adrian had been a strong saint before.
Typically, a saint possesses enough strength to defeat a Chaos Lord from a fourth-grade gate or lower with ease, but over time, Adrian grew weak and began to lose the essence of his soul.
The essence of the soul can be described as the energy that empowers the awakened with the strength needed to use their abilities. The more creatures an awakened being kills, the stronger the essence of their soul becomes. The stronger and more lethal the creature, the more the heart becomes saturated with power.
Because Adrian had refrained from killing for too long, his essence had become so weak it was barely perceptible.
This is not the only way a person can lose their soul's essence. There are cases where an awakened being faces extremely powerful creatures that push them to the brink of death, as happened with Elena, who lost most of her soul's essence because she nearly died before the Chaos Lord.
There are also some Chaos creatures whose terror is indescribable, causing hundreds of awakened beings to lose their soul's essence—not just losing it but having it shattered forever.
The terror produced by these creatures is enough to shatter the soul's essence of any awakened being, except for those with strong mental fortitude, which allows them to resist these creatures mentally.
Although Jin learned these horrifying truths, he never hated his grandfather for keeping them from him. Instead, he swore to himself that he would one day take revenge on these creatures.
As hatred and darkness began to grow within him, unnoticed even by himself, Jin was gradually becoming corrupted...
Jin was sitting in the backyard of the training grounds, gazing at the sky.
Elena asked him with a gentle smile, "Are you ready, Jin?"
Jin smiled, "Yes, I suppose I am."
Elena stood beside him and placed her hand on his head to pat him gently, "It seems like you're going to miss me a lot, aren't you?"
Jin sighed and smiled shyly, "Yes, I might miss you... just a little."
Elena smiled and said, "Since you answered so kindly, I'll give you something important that you should never lose."
Jin looked at her, "What will you give me?"
Elena pulled out a silver pendant with a falcon emblem from her pocket, "Take this pendant and wear it."
"Every time you look at it, you should remember me. Is that clear?" She then hugged him and placed the pendant around his neck.
Jin closed his eyes and smiled, "Alright, I will cherish it."
During that short period, Elena had become incredibly dear to Jin. She was the first girl to make him feel a sense of motherly affection. Jin hadn't been aware of these feelings before due to losing his parents when he was a child, but he loved those emotions.
He truly loved having Elena by his side. He had never interacted with women in any way before, which made him unaware of their gentle nature.
Over the past two months, they had eaten together every day at the restaurant, shopped a lot together, and Elena had also trained him under Morgan's supervision.
She had talked to him a lot about various aspects of life, stories, and tales that Jin loved greatly.
Since he loved reading, he had also read many books that Elena recommended to him. Although only two months had passed, the beautiful memories Jin had experienced were extremely precious to him.
Elena bid him farewell with a strong hug, "See you later, Jin. Take care of yourself."
Jin felt a bit sad to leave her and hugged her back, "Okay, take care of yourself too."
He then left her and went to the main castle to meet Morgan. Upon arrival, Jin saw Sai and called out to him, "Is Commander Morgan here?"
Sai replied, "Yes, he's waiting for you. Are you ready to leave already?"
Jin smiled, "Of course."
Sai smiled, "Make sure to enjoy yourself; the academy is a lot of fun."
"Have you ever been there?"
Sai answered, "Every awakened has visited that academy."
Jin responded, "Oh, I see."
Sai then knocked on Morgan's door, "Sir, Jin is ready to leave."
Morgan replied loudly, "Let him in."
Jin entered to find Saint Park seated, with Saint Lamar beside him.
Park greeted him with a cheerful expression, "Hello, boy. You've really changed over the past two months."
Morgan responded proudly, "Yes, this young man has trained well under my supervision."
Lamar sighed, playing with her hair, "He's not bad."
Jin felt embarrassed by their praise and said, "Uh, thanks, I suppose."
Morgan smiled, "Saints Park and Lamar will accompany you on this journey, so make sure to show them respect."
Park extended his hand to shake Jin's, "Let's cooperate well, young man."
Jin nodded and shook his hand, "Thank you for your time, Sir Park."
He then leaned his body to bow to Morgan, "Thank you, Commander, for everything."
Morgan stood up, placing his hands on Jin's shoulders with a smile, "Don't let me down, or I'll come and beat you myself."
Jin laughed nervously and looked away, "Ah, haha, alright, alright, don't worry about that."
Park smiled at both of them and said, "Alright, let's go now."
They all proceeded to the main gate to board the carriage waiting outside.
The carriage looked extremely luxurious. Jin was used to seeing people ride single horses, but this was the first time he saw an elegant carriage drawn by two beautiful white horses.
"Wow, what a carriage," Jin whistled in amazement.
Morgan slapped Jin on the back and said, "Go and get in with them."
"Ouch," Jin rubbed his back and then approached the carriage.
Jin entered the carriage where Park and Lamar were already seated, and they began to move while Morgan waved goodbye.
Jin looked at the castle shrinking gradually in the distance and then asked, "Can I know why Miss Lamar is with you, Saint Park? I thought you were coming with me alone... Are you two married or something?"
Park laughed merrily while Lamar's annoyance was evident on her face, replying, "What a rude boy."
Park then answered, "Haha, no, no, she's a saint from my team."
Jin looked at both of them and asked, "Do saints have teams?"
Park replied, "Of course, there are two others in my team, but they're on other missions right now, and it's really rare to see them."
Jin responded, "And you're the leader of this team, aren't you?"
Park smiled, "That's very kind of you, but no. Consider yourself lucky that you haven't met them because our leader... well, you could say he's somewhat frightening, and the other is extremely crazy."
Jin looked at him in surprise and said, "What a strange team. You're handsome and kind, that girl is cold and seems annoying, the third is a frightening leader, and the fourth is one of the crazy ones."
Lamar retorted, twisting his ear, "Who are you calling annoying, you impudent child?"
"Ouch, ouch, my ear, get your hand off, damn it."
Park laughed hysterically, "You're really quite funny, Jin."