.Walking alone on the street on a cold January evening, the boy took a good look around. Snowflakes were falling on his dirty hoodie.
He had pale skin and dark circles under his eyes.
He let out his breath, letting the hot steam warm his face.
[Magic awaits you....]
The voice echoed in his ears, but the boy paid little attention to it. Instead, he looked enviously at the hurried people walking at a fast pace.
Each person wore a face of disgust as they walked past the boy. It must have been the boy's clothes. Or maybe he didn't smell as good as they did. After all, he had come out of a cesspool before coming here.
He had a jacket that was torn and almost in two pieces, and underneath was a pair of green pants.
The boy didn't know the actual color of the pants. He had been wearing them for as long as he could remember.
The boy was a bit surprised as he had never been to this part of the city.
He expected people to be happier. But most people had a sad and somber demeanor.
'Interesting...'
The boy said.
As he clutched the bag of donuts tightly in his hand, he realized once again how greedy people were.
They lived in nice houses. They wore clean clothes. They ate food that could only be satisfied by its smell, but despite all these good things, they were unhappy.
The boy looked one last time at the busy streets of the city and sighed.
It was as if time had stopped for him.
The cold air filled his lungs and the rumbling of his stomach woke him up.
That's right, he was going to eat something good for the first time today.
The boy sat on the edge of a bench. He began to carefully open the bag in his hand as if he was holding a precious stone.
As the heat of the burrito warmed his cold hands, the boy took a big bite.
"Mm....."
As the thick sauce dribbled down the sides of his mouth, the boy was ecstatic.
"Is this the taste of heaven? For God's sake, do you eat this stuff?"
The boy had never eaten anything like this in his life.
"Seriously, what kind of person can eat something like this and still be sad?
The boy happily began to eat what was left of his burrito.
After all, this was a special day for him. Something he could only celebrate once.
He decided to indulge himself on this special day.
Because now it was time.
The voice echoed in her ears once more.
[Magic awaits you....]
The boy looked away, dozed off, then slapped himself. The boy writhed in pain as an electric current shot through his whole body.
"Damn it!"
A mouthful of curses came out.
Shaking his head and cursing, the boy finished his burrito and stood up. The rich people who lived in this part of the city hurried past the small park on their way home from work, looking at him with strange expressions. The boy, unhealthily thin and pale, wearing cheap clothes and looking exhausted from lack of sleep, was someone who really had no place here. Besides, everyone looked so tall. Watching them with some envy, he threw the burrito bag into the trash can.
"Come on, it's time to go back."
The boy kept going, turning back the way he had come.
His eyes stopped in front of a television store.
He bent down to look at the price, but after seeing a few zeros, he decided against it.
"Why do these people pay so much money for this hunk of metal? They can come here and watch it whenever they want."
The boy's eyes began to ache as he looked at multiple screens.
He was only interested in one channel where a woman with beautiful colored eyes was talking. Her gaze was focused on the boy as she smoothed her long black hair. Or rather, that was exactly what was going through the boy's mind. The woman was quite remarkable. The boy knew that the life of such a beauty would be quite easy. After all, it was easy for someone blessed with beauty to survive anywhere. The boy had experienced this first hand.
"I have with me Letus LeMyers, a Level 2 mage. He is studying at the Dome school of magic and is already under contract with a guild."
"Hello Veronica, nice to see you again. I see you've lost weight while I've been away."
'tch...'
The boy rolled his eyes. That damn Letus was walking up to Veronica, right in front of him.
"Shit.
"It's only been about 30 days and it's nice that you think I've changed so fast."
"Oh... that's how long it's been? I've been in that fucking place for almost 300 days."
Letus smiled jokingly. The boy couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth or lying.
"You're just like the last time I saw you, Letus. Soon I'm going to start thinking you're lying. You recently closed a Level 1 door. How are you feeling?"
"As you can see, I'm a bomb, Veronica. It was not a difficult task for me and my team. Of course, the Predators guild played a big part in our success. For the biggest guild in the world, this achievement can only be a stepping stone to our next success. Becoming a Level 3 mage is next."
The young woman waited a few seconds and shook her head from side to side.
"Isn't it too early, Letus, you're still only 19. There aren't many wizards who can reach your level at this age. So what advice would you give to the young would-be wizards on the screen? How was your first attempt at a magic portal?"
The young man paused a little at Veronica's question. It was as if he was trying to sort out a few things in his head.