The realm of Nymira, or Planet Terra, is a world of fantasy where different races have inhabited for several millennia.
However, calling their relationship 'coexistence' is a far-fetched notion.
Rather than coexistence, one could say they merely strive to be in harmony when facing their common enemy: the wild beasts, the magical beasts, and the demons.
After the defeat of demons, the races frequently turned on each other, battling over resources, land, and other disputes
But everything changed four decades ago.
The demon continent of Aynor, which was supposed to be submerged in the south Xynnar Ocean thousands of years ago, has resurfaced. The demons, under various demon lords, started invading the continents, forcing the races to ally with each other.
As if that wasn't troubling enough, dungeons started appearing in the middle of cities and towns with dense populations, periodically releasing demonic beasts known as Skarn and causing massacres.
Skarn is a race of demon-like beings with shadowy forms, fiery eyes, and razor-sharp claws. They are weak in daylight and strong at night. However, their prime target is humans. Eating them will make them stronger, especially those born with Astron cores.
Meanwhile, the twelve ancient dragons were also suddenly woken up from their slumber at the same time. With the power of creating lower-level dragon species like drakes and wyrms and the army of dragons at their whim, they started wreaking havoc in their nearby towns and villages to amass tributes from the humans in the form of either meat or gold, leaving the dragonelves to get either ostracized or feared by their friends. Some organizations went as far as to kill them in the name of a dragon hunt. As a result, many of them were forced to settle down in a few regions of the elven nation to stay united.
On the other hand, the occupation of dragon slayers also rose further. It took them thirty years to slay ten of the twelve ancient dragons.
The humans must not only face the demonic invasion, but they should also take care of Skarn from the dungeons, massacres from the dragon armies which kill for fun or when they have a bad mood, and prepare to get betrayed by other races at any time, not forgetting to take their fellow humans' insatiable greed into account too.
As a result, weapon technology saw a drastic growth in the world; more and more humans started depending on it as they saw the results. The popularity of guilds also rose considerably due to the rise of threats and payments.
Year 42, Third Age of Astron;
Republic of Melodior, Central Continent;
At the ancestral graveyard located behind the Oak Manor, once a prominent estate where the legendary Llyne family lived, but at present, it was nothing more than a haunted house on the hill, there was a grand memorial gravestone located in the center.
Made of Adamantium, the stone is not only worth billions but also durable enough to withstand even nuclear explosions. Runes were inscribed on top of it that let it stay spotlessly clean for thousands of years.
An old man with a shaggy appearance was sitting in front of the grave and just staring at the memorial while muttering something.
His messy white hair that touches the ground, his wrinkles, his ghostly pale face, and most importantly, the fact that he was murmuring under his breath, just made him look like a black magic practitioner or someone who lost his mind.
"That day, when you were secretly watching young Miss Luna's training from a window, I actually spilled the sauce made of…"
*Ssshhhh*
A hissing sound was suddenly generated from the memorial, stopping his murmur.
It was at that moment that the stone disintegrated into dust and a teenage-looking girl slowly rose from the grave. She was pale-skinned, silver-haired with eyes like emeralds, and wore luxurious black and red robes that shimmered like magic. Her skin glowed softly.
"What the…" The old man's legs started shaking uncontrollably as he got onto his feet slowly.
Meanwhile, the girl looked around, "it looks like I'm in a graveyard. Hmm…" Her eyes fell on the old man.
"Mi… Milady?" He looked like he was in disbelief, pinching his own skin to the point that it bled. His voice quivered. His eyelashes fluttered. There was a stream of tears flowing down his cheeks.
The girl looked surprised for a second. "Huh… you look familiar…" A sudden realization dawned upon her. "Hugo?" She was stunned for a moment.
Slowly landing on the ground before the old man, she questioned, "Wha… what happened to you?"
The man kowtowed at his master's feet, "Welcome back, Milady. I always knew that you would return to the world of living." He didn't answer her question and just continuously kowtowed to the girl.
The girl crouched down and touched his head, "Arise my most loyal servant; Hugolinus Crutas Llyne, with my authority as your master, I return your peak state." Her hands glowed, followed by a golden aura enveloping the old man.
In an instant, he transformed into a handsome hunk in his 20s wearing traditional long scarlet robes made of fine silk, with a strange insignia of a sheep and a shepherd's staff drawn upon it. He slowly rose to his feet.
Looking at himself, he once again went down, this time to one of his knees, touching the ground and with his gaze on his master's feet, "Milady. I await your order."
The girl stepped forward and patted his shoulder with a look of seriousness, "I wish I could say let's relax for a bit and tour around, but the fact that I was released from my seal means my children are released from their imprisonment as well. We need to find them first. Let's talk on the way. Brief me on the events that happened in these missing years."
"Eh? His Highness will return as well?" The Butler was frozen like a statue for a second with his eyes widened, and his body started shaking uncontrollably, but in the end, he managed to get himself under control and got up, "Understood, Milady."