Lio: "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A high-pitched, shrill scream echoed through the forest outside the warehouse ruins, piercing enough to silence the birds.
Lio: "HELP!!"
His scream echoed through the broken stone halls, as thorny vines chased him like serpents possessed.
Lio: "AAAAAHHH!! NOT MY JEWELS!!"
He wasn't wearing pants.
Because he no longer had pants.
Lio: "H-HELP!! I'M TOO YOUNG TO BE ROOTED!!"
Lio, sixteen, underfed, emotionally wrecked, and completely naked, sprinted like a madman across the cracked stone floor of the warehouse, flailing his arms in terror. Behind him, dozens of thick, thorny vines snaked and chased him with uncanny speed, each one targeting one very specific, very vulnerable location.
Lio: "NOT THE BALLS BELOW!!!"
He leaped over crates, dodged fallen beams, and somehow avoided a tripwire that would've dropped a barrel onto his skull.
Twisting, flipping, crawling, tumbling, Lio avoided the deadly vines with pure instinct and sheer, dumb luck. Not skill. Not training. Just pure groin survival energy.
A moment earlier, he had confidently followed a charming "rich merchant" who promised food, shelter, and a warm place for his sisters. That "merchant" turned out to be a Dryad, a plant-based monster disguised in human form, looking to capture men and turn them into breeding fertilizer.
Tears streamed from his eyes. "I DON'T WANNA DIE VIRGIN!!!"
"I knew I should've stayed in bed!!!" Lio cried, diving under a vine whip aimed directly at his treasured family jewels.
The Dryad, now fully revealed, snarled and raised another spell, causing the ground to twist and churn with thorny roots.
Behind the safety of a large barrel, two small girls peeked out with curious eyes. Lia and Lana, Lio's seven-year-old twin sisters, watched the scene with identical expressions of awe and mischief.
"Big Brother's flapping," Lana said dryly.
"Looks like a baby bird learning to fly," Lia giggled.
Both stared blankly as their older brother ran past them a third time, still shrieking, still miraculously untouched. Despite the situation, the Dryad monster, once disguised as a seductive merchant, was lazily watching her vines try to snatch Lio's most sacred relic.
"Big brother's being bullied again," Lia said flatly, chewing a biscuit.
"He's making weird faces," Lana added, blinking as Lio rolled and screamed.
They sat calmly inside a broken birdcage, observing the chaos unfold outside. They weren't being targeted, Dryads preferred adult males. But watching their brother's frantic groin-dodging dance was more entertaining than any fairy tale.
"Ohh~ come here, boy~" the Dryad purred. "You have such healthy… roots."
"I DON'T WANNA BE A TREE FATHER!!" Lio wailed.
His voice cracked into something between a scream and a hiccup.
Just as the vines cornered him against a broken wall, just as Lio gave up all hope, arms flailing in surrender, something shifted.
A shadow passed over the dryad.
BAM.
A single, clean punch collided with her face. The dryad let out a squeal, not of pain, but of utter deletion, as her body evaporated into glittering leaves and light.
She didn't even have time to scream.
Her mistake? Targeting Lio's groin in front of Red.
The vines retracted instantly. Lio flopped onto the ground like a broken puppet, twitching and heaving for breath.
Then, he looked up.
Through teary eyes, he saw him.
Red.
Black-cloaked and armored, Red walked forward with slow, heavy steps. His twin swords were sheathed. He didn't draw them.
He didn't need to.
His savior. His god. His eternal protector of the descendants.
Lio: "REEEEEED!!!!"
Lio launched himself forward, crying, naked, and grateful.
He latched onto Red's leg like a lost child.
Lio: "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU SAVED MY FUTURE CHILDREN! I WAS ABOUT TO BECOME A TREE FATHER!!"
Red stared down, expression unchanged.
Red: "…You're naked."
Lio blinked. "Huh?"
Akane and Selena walked around the corner.
Both froze mid-step.
Akane's face turned bright red. "…W-WHAT!?"
Selena's eyes went wide, then covered her face with both hands. "I-I-I-I'm not looking!"
Lio blinked.
Then slowly looked down.
Then screamed.
Lio: "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
He scrambled to the nearby curtain dangling off a rotted window, yanked it down, and wrapped himself like a burrito of shame.
Lio: "I WAS VICTIMIZED!! I SWEAR I DIDN'T FLASH ON PURPOSE!"
Selena peeked between her fingers and whispered, "T-there's even leaves stuck to his…!"
"…P-PLEASE FORGET WHAT YOU SAW!" he wailed, face redder than a tomato.
Lia and Lana skipped over to Red and latched onto him cheerfully.
Lia: "Uncle Red~!"
Lana: "You saved our brother's jewels!"
Red remained stone-faced.
Red: "…It's fine. I've seen worse."
Akane groaned and turned around, pinching the bridge of her nose.
A few minutes later, Lio sat under the shade of a crumbled pillar, finally dressed in an old shirt and pants scrounged from the ruined outpost.
Once things settled, Red stood over Lio, now covered decently, and stared him down.
"Why did you follow a stranger?" he asked, arms crossed.
Lio flinched.
Red: "Why endanger your sisters?"
"I… I didn't mean to," Lio said softly. "I just…"
He looked down, fists clenching.
Lio: "I wanted to get out of the slums. I thought… Maybe I could find us a better life. I didn't want them to keep living like rats while I sat around doing nothing…"
His voice cracked. "I just wanted to be useful. I wanted to protect them."
A long silence followed.
Then, Red stepped forward.
Red: "...Then train under me."
Lio looked up.
"Become an adventurer," Red said. "Train under me. Get stronger. Make a better life with your own hands."
Lio blinked. "Me…? Really?"
Red nodded.
Red: "But only if you take this seriously."
Lio's eyes shimmered. "Yes! I will! I promise! Anything!"
Red's gaze shifted to Lia and Lana. "And they'll stay with us. They'll be safe."
The twins hugged his legs tighter.
Lia: "Yay~!"
Lana: "Do you have books and snacks?"
"...Probably," Red muttered.
Lio dropped to his knees. "Red… I swear I'll be the best rookie ever. I'll train hard. I'll work till my descendants can breathe again!"
"Stop bringing up your descendants," Akane growled.
Selena just kept blushing.
A soft chime echoed through Red's interface:
[Rookie Acquired – Lio]
[Rookie Count: 2 / 5]
[Quest Progress: 1 Year Remaining]
Red turned around.
Red: "Let's go home."
Lio grinned, curtain flapping like a dramatic cape.
Lia and Lana cheered.
Akane, walking beside Red, glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"You… really do live up to your reputation," she said quietly. "You saved them without hesitation."
Red didn't reply.
But his expression softened, just a bit.
Selena smiled from behind, watching him with admiration.
He's really… the kind of person who saves others without saying a word…
And so, Lio became the second rookie.
A fool.
A protector.
A chaotic storm.
But under Red's shadow, he would rise.