Luke has had a very mundane life. Like most people, he began working at a young age. His earliest memories consist of him working in the Mithril mine where he would spend the majority of his life. Most of his days were spent with a pick axe in hand, trapped in a dark, confined space where he could barely breathe; covered in sweat and fine particles of mithril ore.

At the end of every day, he would be so completely exhausted that he didn't have the energy to do anything else, which led to him being a loner. In Luke's 20 years of life, he had barely gotten to experience the simple joys of life. He never had any adventures and could count the number of times he's had sex on one hand.

But one day, he realized he couldn't continue the rest of his life like this.

The day had been like any other; Luke got out of bed before sunrise, dressed, and went straight to work as usual. But in a single moment, everything changed.

Somebody made a fatal mistake. they struck the wrong part of the mine's wall, triggering a cave-in and killing both them and 15 other people including the man directly in front of Luke. Had Luke been a single step ahead, he would have died right then and there with them.

If he had died there, nobody would have cared. Luke had no loved ones, no accomplishments and had never made a name for himself. That near-death experience lit a fire in Luke's heart.

Something had to change.

immediately after that experience, Luke threw his pick axe to the side; raced out of the mine, found his boss and punched him so hard that he knocked out a tooth, before loudly proclaiming "I fucking quit!!" leaving his ex-boss in utter shock. The bastard had always seen and treated Luke and the rest of the workers as garbage and Luke wouldn't let that go unpunished.

Luke had decided to make a name for himself, to no longer just be some guy who worked in a mine. He wanted to have an adventure. to travel the world, hunting monsters and fucking whoever he pleased. Luckily for him, this world was filled with endless beauties, from vampires to demons and much more, Luke would embrace them all!

After getting back to the dreary ramshackle hovel he called home, Luke managed to scrounge up his meagre savings; checking under the mattress and emptying the coin jar, hoping it was enough to buy a one-way ticket off the shitty little rock he had lived his entire life on. Everyone knew that if you planned on making it as a hunter you had to go to the mainland.

That's what brought Luke to the harbour. With all his belongings crammed in the bag on his back and the crisp ocean breeze rushing past, Luke could already see his future, a life of endless pleasure, good food, and of course adventure was just beyond the horizon. a sense of excitement swelled within Luke, making him finally understand what it felt like to look forward to the future, a new feeling. It was only a matter of getting there.

He couldn't get there.

After spending hours looking for a ride, Luke was still without accommodations. Turns out, Luke's life savings were just about equal in worth to jack squat but slightly more than fuck all. Everyone laughed when he offered them his money.

Now sitting hunched over on a curb, Belonging to his side, and staring at the setting sun, Luke began to worry [Was all of this a mistake?] he thought. [Am I who I am, and where I am because that's all I was ever meant to be?] he contemplated. [should I go back to the mine? is going back even an opti-]

"you work?"

"I-huh?" Luke stuttered as his thoughts were interrupted.

"Are you looking for work" she clarified "Figured with the bag and that sad look on your face, you could use a ride"

"..." he looked up at her, silent.

"Are you deaf or something? I'll give you a ride if you can work." she said, throwing a turn of heavy rope over her shoulder "Need all the help I can get. I Lost two good sailors on the way here. That mithril better fetch a good price on the mainland" she complained, shifting the rope on her shoulder to a more comfortable position.

"Uh-yeah... yes! I can work. Any job you need!" Luke nervously answered, breaking his uncomfortable silence.

"Good," said the woman, turning and walking, before Luke picked up his bag and followed.

Her ship, 'Lady of the Sea', was a well-worn private trade vessel that had seen more than her fair share of long journeys on choppy waters. Her hull was splintered and riddled with barnacles; her sails, a patchwork of assorted fabrics but, as Lauren said, "She's rough 'round the edges, but she'll do."

Lauren was tough, the Kind of woman who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She ran a tight ship, any slaking off was swiftly quelled by an authoritative shout, and if that didn't do the trick, a firm smack to the back of the head would straighten you out. Despite that, Lauren liked to have fun, she drank and sang with her fellow sailors when the sun went down but, save for Luke, she'd always be the last to bed. after years of sleeping early due to utter fatigue from a tasking day in the mines, even the constant odd jobs Lauren would throw his way couldn't tire him out to that extent.

As time flew by she grew to somewhat respect the otherwise unassuming man, if there was anything a captain liked to see, it was a hard worker. And a cute one at that, Luke unquestionably stood above the rest of her crew in the looks department. Despite being in her thirties, Lauren had to admit that over what had been more than a month at sea, she had a growing fondness for the young man.

[it's just the rum talking, he wouldn't be interested in a cougar like me] She laughed.