On a morning when the rain was pouring heavily, inside an old house on the outskirts of Abis city , Dan was sitting on the cold floor, staring at a wooden box in front of him.
He was thinking about the events of last night, the last thing he saw was the strange man's face blowing dust towards his face.
Dan woke up this morning in his home where he lives alone, not knowing how he got here or what the contents of the box he found inside the house are.
"Damn it, my head hurts. How did I get here, and what the hell is this box?"
After Dan cracked his knuckles in preparation, he opened the box.
He was surprised by a yellow-brown envelope with a black wax seal in the shape of a crow on it. His heart raced because everyone in the city recognized this crow seal.
Dan picked up the envelope and, after examining it for a long time, removed the stamp and set it aside with some caution.
There was a letter inside the envelope, written in dark black ink.
Dan began to mumble the contents of the letter.
" Hello again, young man. I am the handsome man who killed the disgusting monster. I have searched for all your personal information. Well, it seems you are in your early twenties, belonging to no clan or prestigious family. You have been living alone since your grandfather's death and working like a slave all day to cover your food and drink expenses.
Dan's eyes filled with great anger and his breathing became heavy after reading the first lines, yet he was curious to read the rest.
He searched with his eyes for the next line and continued reading with a somewhat rough voice.
And the surprising thing is that you train your body late into the night, something unusual for an ordinary miner who has no ties to the clans. You have a unique personality, and there is determination in those blue eyes. I have a surprise for you; I want to show you something in the middle of the day near your favorite tree."
Dan tore the letter and then said with some anger.
"This arrogant scoundrel who thinks too highly of himself is sticking his nose into my life just because he is strong."
After the rain stopped, Dan took a deep breath and then stood up, heading towards the kitchen, hungry. He stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking in all directions.
It had been dirty and empty since his grandfather's death.
Dan held his necklace and looked at it sadly, only to find his reflection staring back with the same sorrowful features.
"Will I be like this forever, weak, lonely, and hungry?"
Dan turned towards the exit of the house, and before opening the door, he whispered to himself.
"You are not weak, Dan. You were just born into an unfair world where the weak must remain weak and the strong grow stronger."
Dan smiled, then the door opened, and after the first step, he said with all the confidence in his body.
"I will get one or more rings and change the laws of the world, even if it costs me the lives of all the clans."
Dan scratched his head and then talked to himself."
" Damn, if the clans heard me, they would die laughing, but this serves my goals in the end."
Dan trudged through the mud with a smile on his face, heading towards the city center where the gate is located.
With each step towards the city center, the roads became better, the buildings more beautiful, and the air cleaner.
Dan reached the middle of the city after an hour of walking, noticing the eyes falling on him, hearing the whispers echoing, and seeing the maids pointing at him.
He insisted on his teeth.
"I swear, I swear that I will change all of this."
He turned left towards the gate, and after the first step out of the gate , he felt some warm winds on his face. His hair moved with the wind, which made Dan feel a bit of comfort.
He paused for a moment, gazing at the green spaces in front of him, until his eyes found his yellow tree.
Dan smiled and slowly walked towards her with his hands in his pants pockets.
After Dan approached the tree, he noticed a figure standing under it, and then his nonchalant walk became serious.
After a few steps, Dan recognized that white cloak with golden stripes and those rings that looked like a harbinger of doom.
The stranger made Dan uneasy, as if something about him was unnatural.
The stranger looked at Dan with a smile that seemed forced.
"You finally came, you have a strange personality so I thought you wouldn't come."
Dan stood a few meters away, looking at the person in front of him, then asked without hesitation.
"Are you Leos , one of the guardians of Abis?"
The guard's eyes widened as if something terrifying had happened.
Before Dan could take another breath, he found himself being dragged by the neck with a golden rope towards Lyos.
Dan drew his dagger and tried to cut the rope, but it was of no use; the golden rope was very strong.
Leos approached Dan with unreadable speed, snatched the dagger from his hand, and brought it down to his neck. Then he asked with a terrifying look that made Dan's fingers tremble.
"Who told you my real name?"
Dan couldn't answer because the rope was tightly around his neck. He pointed with his fingers towards the rope and mumbled incomprehensible words.
He dropped it on the grassy ground under the tree.
"Speak, or I'll tear out your damn throat. How, how could someone like you know my real name?"
After Dan caught his breath, he turned his eyes towards Leos.
"My grandfather, my grandfather told me about you and all the guardians of Abis."
A smile crept onto Leo's face.
"Hahaha, you say that an old man from the muddy villages in the city knows the names of the Abis guards."
Before Dan could answer, leos turned towards the city.
Leos's laughter quickly faded when he noticed someone coming from afar.
"Here it comes."