Under the soft moonlight, several boats moved slowly on the river. The wind blowing behind the boat gives the rowers a much-needed break. But this time off brings unexpected danger that awaits them.

An arrow shot accurately through the neck of a man on the leading ship. His body stiffened, then slowly leaned forward until it fell to the river. The splashing sound started a shower of arrows that attacked the group of boats on the river.

"Wake up! Wake up! We are amb-" The sound of shouting from the front-most boat was immediately silenced by a shower of arrows. Fortunately, the sound was enough to make the other boats alert and raise their shields and weapons.

"Protect the archers!"

In this ambush, it was clear that the side on board did not have the upper hand. The moonlight shining on the river made their archers clearly visible. Meanwhile, their enemies hiding under the trees were almost invisible to their archers.

"Endure!" A man with a large shield shouted loudly. He threw the oars at some of the more safe parts of the boat. "Paddle! We can survive!"

In reality, he also doubted whether they could survive this ambush. It won't take long for them to run out of arrows. The arrows the enemies shoot can certainly be used up again, but how many lives has lost by then? Not to mention if the arrows they shot at the enemies were shot back at them.

Amidst the chaotic rain of arrow, a loud sound of drums was heard. The man and everyone above the boat looked at the source of the sound in fear. They did not bring drums because this was a secret diplomatic group. This means there is only one other possibility.

"Enemy boats! Enemy boats!" Now the chances of them surviving fell to the ground. They couldn't even retreat and even escaping is hard, if not impossible.

Not long after, the boats collided. The loud sound of it seemed to be a sign that their time would not be long anymore. The fighters jumped into their boats and began to paint the boats and the river with blood. Some people started jumping into the river, trying to desert and escape. But where and how could they escape?

The sun rose, ending that bloody night. Not too far from the point of battle, a teenager lay limp in a cave. He was Tirnath, part of the group that was ambushed last night.

Tirnath opened his eyes slowly. He tried to move his hands, but was unable to. He could only glance that way without moving his head. "Bast*rd!" he shouted angrily. If it weren't for his hands being tired from having to hold his body up all night in an overturned boat, he would definitely punch the ground.

He wanted to scream and show his anger, he wanted to curse and get angry at his ambushers. But actually, deep down he really really wanted to cry. He was tired and in despair, he was scared.

With tears flowing slowly, he opened his mouth and in a trembling voice said, "I don't want to die."

"Why don't you want to die?" Suddenly a voice heard in his ears. Tirnath was shocked, but remembering a similar moment in his childhood, he felt that this was the end of his life.

"We meet again, yes, the Reaper of Lives?" Tirnath replied in a voice that was still shaking, but his face no longer showed anger and fear.

But then there was no reply, so Tirnath chose to answer the question, "I don't want to die because I'm afraid of dying. I don't want to die because I'm still young. I don't want to die because I haven't found my true self...."

Tirnath spoke continuously without any reply. Tirnath finally stopped talking. After a moment of silence, Tirnath continued his speech. The tone was different, not with anger or fear, but full of hatred. "I don't want to die because I want to avenge my family." A strong sense of hatred, a very deep sense of revenge. In fact, after returning from Farema Village, he will finally be able to start the first step of his revenge. But instead this ambush occurred.

"I refuse to die before I leave my mark on this damn world. I refuse to die as a mere one of many people. I'm going to prove to myself and this damn world that I'm not done yet! I can still fight, and I won't stop fighting till I get what I want."

"What a goal, kid. But a mortal like you has a dream that even a totem spirit like me can't achieve? What do you have besides your vulnerable body? Come to your senses, mortal."

"You..." Tirnath began to realize that the voice he heard was not the voice of the 'Reaper of Lives.' Yet he was familiar with this 'totem spirit', "You… are you a totem spirit?"

"Am I stuttering or are you deaf? Yes I am a totem spirit." Tirnath, who heard that, became a little hopeful. Despite this totem show a considerable amount of hostility, he was still happy. If his assumption is correct, then this totem spirit is a free spirit. He would not waste the opportunity to obtain the totem spirit in this second chance!

"I'm sorry, Sir. My name is Tirnath Orvazar, may I know your name?"

"Vyras Elthar of the Velmetor Confederation."

Tirnath quickly tried to remember tribal politics, unfortunately, he had never heard of the Velmetor Confederacy. But a totem is a totem nonetheless. Tirnath, in awe and humility, spoke, "Lord Vyras, would you give me help in my quest for revenge?"

"You are most likely deaf and have mental problems. But it cannot be denied that your big dreams are really interesting."

Tirnath's face was decorated with a smile, even though he hide his grudge in his heart. Whatever it was, finally he would have the chance to get his revenge!

"But you are too weak, and potentially deaf. I don't need a weak and or deaf Custodian." But Vyras then continued his sentence, really putting an emphasis on deaf in both occasion he said it.

Tirnath, who heard this, was shaken and angry. Suddenly he felt his body could move again, so he quickly stood up with difficulty. "I'm not deaf, and for now I was indeed weak, but it's a scheme the enemy uses to kill me when I was little."

"Whether it is because of you or because of your enemies, reality shows that you are weak, and weak people are not worthy of my help."

Tirnath gritted his teeth, this was risky, but he was afraid he would lose this opportunity. "I am Tirnath Orvazar, willing to accept the Trials of Custodian!"

"You wish to accept the Trials of Custodian? With such a weak body?" Vyras was in no rush to answer. He then laughed and added insults to Tirnath.

But unfortunately for Vyras, Tirnath grew up full of humiliation. If Vyras wanted to hurt him mentally, he would have to try harder. "Yeah, I'm sure! I request the Trials of Custodian!" Tirnath shouted and emphasized the word 'request.'. Now he wasn't even say that he wish to accept, he was asking for it.

Hearing that made Vyras fall silent, and without responds from Vyras, Tirnath choose to keep silent. Suddenly, Tirnath felt his stamina restored, and his body could move.

"I will give you a final offer." A totem statue appeared in front of Tirnath along with Vyras' voice. "I've recovered your stamina enough to go to your village. You only need to turn around. Just turn around, and you can go home."

Tirnath, who felt his body recovering, immediately looked down. He seemed to be thinking, but not long after he let out a long breath. "I, Tirnath Orvazar, challenge the Trials of Custodian!" he said loudly.

Tirnath then felt an immense pressure all over his body. He immediately fell and hit the ground hard, and still pressured harder to the ground. Wounds covered Tirnath's body, but he didn't even wince. He bit his lip and endured the pain.

As the pressure got stronger, Tirnath felt that his bones were starting to move from where they should be. He started having trouble breathing, having trouble thinking. He couldn't help but think he would die.

But he wasn't in the condition of hopelessness. Totem spirits cannot kill humans intentionally. Especially if he challenged the Trials of Custodian out loud. But the time he was waiting for did not come. He started to doubt his knowledge a little. But he didn't give up.

"I will give you the Trials of Custodian, stand tall."

Suddenly he felt the pressure disappear. He quickly stood up and looked at the totem. But suddenly, he felt another strong pressure and immediately wanted to kneel. Luckily, he hasn't kneel down yet, as suddenly a rock shot very fast in the direction his head would be if he knelt down.

Vyras laughed loudly. The whole cave shook, and Tirnath, still trying to hold a poker face, laughed too. However, his face was very visibly pale. He underestimated the intelligence of the totem spirit. 'Not being able to kill on purpose doesn't mean you can't kill unintentionally, huh? This Vyras is dangerous.'

This was enough to shake his mind. Is it safe to be the Custodian of a totem as dangerous and intelligent as Vyras?

"My previous offer is no longer valid." As if knowing what was in Tirnath's head, Vyras immediately spoke, crushing any hope for Tirnath.

Tirnath tries to control himself. He had no other choices, without Vyras' help, he would have died on the journey, he didn't doubt that. Tirnath tried to maintain his composure consciously, but his fear still lingered in his mind, and his body couldn't lie.

Seeing Tirnath's expression now showing fear, Vyras laughed loudly before continuing, "The Trials of Custodian will begin soon."

Tirnath took a long breath before answering, "I accept."