Forett County.
In the marketplace, where stirring crowds daily assemble.
A middle-aged woman tended to her stall, selling an array of delectable snacks.
A man carefully balanced a large water jug on his back as he navigated through the throng.
Meanwhile, children darted around, enjoying the company of their friends.
-Da! Da! Da!
"Hmm~?" An old man who was wandering around the market, occasionally looking at the goods while smoking his pipe, looks back after hearing the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind.
-Whoosh!
Without even being able to see clearly, the silhouette of a young girl passes right next to him followed by a violent gust of wind that makes his straw hat fly.
"Kuagh!" The old man let out a shout of startle, as he lost his balance!
Fortunately, he didn't fall thanks to his fast time reaction.
Puzzled by the gust, he look up ahead.
And, before long, just a second later, his expression crumbled after seeing the situation as a whole.
"You cockroach-like brat!" He curses out of upset.
However, the accused didn't even slow down a bit.
She keeps dashing with a large smile traced across her lips, her eyes beaming like stars as well!
"Darling, Look at that." A pretty nineteen or twenty-browned maiden pulls the sleeve of her man's shirt down as she indexes at the girl.
Perhaps because of the scene that just occurred before her eyes, her face was drenched and somewhat more hateful.
The girl's boy turned around his head, yet, he clicked his tongue as he watched her.
"Tsk tsk. As expected of a such as wretched, her very existence is a stain on our clan's reputation. I wonder why our patriarch keeps such a weak inside our clan."
Their faces were dark and full of animosity as if they had seen their nemesis.
However, the man who just spat on Mystic's back had features similar to her.
His ashen complexion, crimson pupils, and hair color like coal are the characteristics of one of the three most powerful clans in this world, shadows masters, the shadow clan!
Just to reside in this city, known to be one of the safest and strongest, one had to at least come from an influential clan, a wealthy state official, or have above-average skills.
These skills do not necessarily have to be combat-based.
All the while, numerous other passersby gazed in the same direction, adding to the grim atmosphere.
Every passerby who saw Mystic turned dark as if she were the personification of the plague.
In a haphazard tavern, on the second floor that only the most high-class could rent, a man dressed as a guard speaks to a young man who is sipping tea.
"Young master, it seems that the young lady is back for her school holidays."
The young man with refined features like a model, looks nonchalantly into the alley that crosses the market to the city center through the window.
"...My little cousin... seems in a good mood." He said before continuing to relax without saying anything more.
On his table, in addition to the expensive dishes that he hasn't even touched yet, and his teapot, there was a grimoire and a magnificent sword placed on top.
Unlike Mystic's shoddy grimoire, this young man's… had a silver and metallic cover that made it shine like a precious treasure.
Runes are engraved over the cover, giving the impression of telling an epic battle.
Regardless, his bodyguard's face paled as he heard his young master affectionately call Mystic his cousin.
'What's with that young demon?'
He began to think for a second.
From the expression of the escort, who only had a red spear on his back and a gray grimoire on his waist, his master's words seemed not to be sincere.
He was terrified by his clamor. But he did not dare to ask more questions.
The guard was an ordinary human, unlike his young master who is, like Mystic, a dragonoid.
He has short dirty white hair, and navy blue eyes and seems to be middle-aged.
With his medieval clothing style, radiant knight armor that is not accompanied by a helmet, and white silver boots, he was imposing.
The young man puts down his cup of tea and takes his service knife with a small cruel smile that misstates his handsome face.
The guard gulped as he looked at his young master's twisted expression.
'Well, I was getting the wrong idea.'
With that thought, he tore his gaze away from his young master and focused on Mystic who was running at full speed towards the majestic estate that held the highest status in the city.
Meanwhile, the young man, whose black hair was styled in a long ponytail and horns more developed than Mystic's, looked at his reflection in the marbled teapot before him and smiled warmly.
"This offspring may be of dirty blood, but she still managed to inherit more of our genes than some members of our clan."
These words seem filled with compassion when comparing them to those of the other passersby.
But the way her eyes shine contradicts these words.
Drunk with shame and disgust, was the glow in her crimson pupils.
However, his eyes could see something that others didn't.
A glint of surprise crossed his eyes as they traced a line toward the grimoire on Mustic's waist.
Yet, a chuckle escaped between his lips.
"Hehehe~, Tonight's family dinner promises to be entertaining."
Puzzled by those words, the guard asked.
"What do you mean by that, young master?"
At this question, the young master grinned as he stared up at his bodyguard.
"...That's a mere intuition on my part."
-
In this strange world, whose civilization is close to the medieval, and whose culture is similar to that of the earth, spiritual power has not been omnipresent.
In the past, a distant but short past in the infinite river of time, spiritual power emerged as a glimmer of hope while its creatures were close to extinction.
Creatures similar to aberrations had come to disturb the fictitious peace of that time.
Perhaps because of these 'guests', or gods who wanted to help their miserable creatures survive a disaster, spiritual energy emerged from nowhere following some weird changes beyond men's imaginations.
Some of these great changes were 'grimoires', gods' vestiges, and mutated beasts.
Grimoires were rare at first, despite appearing at the same time as gates and mutated beasts.
Before their appearance, humans, to survive against aberrations, had no choice but to hide in holes.
Humans have always been the weakest creatures among creations. They are not the fastest or the strongest, but they are the quickest to adapt.
This characteristic, in addition to their intelligence, had made them the absolute masters wherever they were.
That is why, when this chance presented itself to them, they became somehow powerful enough to live on the surface without hiding anymore.
Although they are still at war with the aberrations, they are now managing to defend themselves as best they can.
It wasn't easy at first, regardless.
Over the past century, they have gained the strength they need by borrowing the power of the grimoire and the mutant beasts they tame through the grimoires to stand against the invaders.
However, not all humans are equal in this new world.
They are categorized into three major factions in the face of this new power.
Also, grimoires are ranked; Copper is the lowest level, Iron, Silver, Gold, and finally Platinum is the highest!
These are the ranks known to the people.
These grimoires grant only one skill to humans, the power to tame mutant beasts.
However, although this skill seems simple at first glance, the possibilities it offers to humans have proven to be unusual and unfathomable.
Humans, except for a very rare few, have not undergone mutations when spiritual energy arose.
However, they have, thanks to the grimoires, the chance to evolve as well by becoming stronger through these divine gifts.
Although these grimoires do not have the power to mutate their masters, they can transform them into supermen capable of crushing an elephant's neck with their bare hands, swimming faster underwater than fish, or flying more freely in the sky than birds.
With such infinite possibilities, the world of men has set foot in a new era; the era of their new rise to power!
--
After creating an uproar on her way, Mystic finally arrives at her destination.
Shadow count mansion.
As if the master of this black mansion was competing with another cunt when he was building it, he didn't go easy on it.
Whether it's size, height, or magnificence, the mansion couldn't be categorized among its peers.
It was built to be a palace!
It's hard to believe that a girl residing in such an estate would be so belittled by the citizens of the city her clan rules.
In a world where status and power are on the same horse, the clan must have something to do with Mystic's treatment.
However, the pride and confidence that shone in the girl's naive eyes were suspicious.
Either she doesn't care what others think, or she has no common sense, or she's just dumb.
Like an insignificant person, the guards in front of the entrance didn't show any sign of respect towards her as she passed near them.
However, her nonchalance also shows that she was used to this type of treatment.
No one questioned her about her arrival or prevented her from entering the mansion.
However, it was only the most important members of the clan, or the direct descendants of the patriarch who could set foot in this building without being questioned about the reason for their presence by the guards.
In a long, immense corridor lit by beast cores on the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, passing the waiters, and the guards stationed...
Unperturbed by the dark looks and muffled criticism of the servants, Mystic calmly traces her route toward the patriarch's residence.
Once in front of two imposing black doors with runic patterns, it is only then that Mystic frowns when she sees the guards crossing their spears on her path.
"What do you want with the patriarch, kid?"
One of the two guards spits out these words with rigor.
"I have to meet my father." Her tone was as strong as the guard's.
'-!
A surprised exclamation made the eyes of the guard dressed entirely in black armor tremble.
Unlike the other palace guards, these two were the only ones who were dragonid and had a grimoire of the same rank as the mysterious young master in the tavern.
A silver-rank grimoire!
'...That kid.'
The guard didn't let his surprise overwhelm him for long.
"Did you make an appointment with the patriarch?" He then asked.
"Do I need an appointment to meet my father!?"
Mystic answered frantically.
Both guards look at each other for a while and stare at Mystic a second time with puzzled eyes.
'This kid seems different.'
The guard who has been speaking since the beginning, gazes at Mystic's fearless and confident expression with doubt for a moment.
However, before he could find the source of Mystic's confidence who, before, could barely get a word in front of them without stammering, his colleague withdrew his spear in Mystic's way.
Although shocked by his colleague's decision, he nevertheless followed his example when he saw him signal for him to be quiet.
"Hmph!" Mystic snorted as she walked in.
"..."