A group of three young boys was approaching. The one in front was a silver-haired boy. His chin was stuck up in the air, viewing down below with his ocean blue eyes. If not for the tailored dark blue suit and tie and the lack of two mounds, Kane would’ve mistaken him as a girl… although noticing his red lips made Kane think twice.

Zumi was gazing at him while Athera was trembling and averting her face.

The other two wore plain grey shirts. Their faces were even similar. Twins, perhaps. They put a stern face.

“Congratulations, half-blood. Not only have you triumphed over the riese, but you also did it solo. Quite an accomplishment, I must say,” said the silver-haired boy, applauded lightly. Contrary to what Kane had expected, his voice was rather ordinary for his gender.

“Hmph. You have my thanks, sissy boy,” spat Kane, glaring at him. “And who the hell are you?”

“Watch your tongue, half-blood!” one of the twins barked.

The silver-haired boy raised his hand to refrain the twin from talking. His eyes narrowed for a moment then became relaxed again. “Stand down, perhaps you do not know me yet. I am Calypso Ralfter, the third son of King Seran Ralfter.”

“Ah, y-you’re this kingdom’s prince!” Zumi shouted, pointing at Calypso. “I’ve never seen you in such close distance.”

“Indeed. I’ve been reluctant to show myself in public.” He nodded, smiling. “In fact, you should be honored. And for this occasion, you don’t have to genuflect.”

“I too am honored, sissy prince.” Kane stood up and walked toward where the riese was. Taking the normal mana core into his pocket, he said, “But I know your intention and we will give you nothing,” he said.

“Kane!” Zumi shouted in a whisper.

“Oh?” Calypso clenched his fists. “I indeed desire your mana cores, but of course, I will give the appropriate compensation. Say, how about 5,000 gold?”

“That money can even buy my house!” Zumi remarked.

“You don’t seem to have that amount of money currently,” said Kane, eyeing the prince group. He noticed there were many blood-stained pouches carried by the twins.

Calypso scratched his nose and curved his mouth upward. “Rest assured. I’ll send it tomorrow to your home.”

“Pfft! Nice try.” Kane snickered and turned away from the prince. “Let’s get out of here. He’s not worth even talking to,” he told his teammates.

Calypso gritted his teeth. His face contorted, ruining the charm. He took a deep breath and chanted a spell. A wide ice wall formed behind Kane’s group.

“A rank 1 spell!” Zumi gasped. “And he cast it casually…”

“Do you think you can simply walk away after you mocked me and refused my offer? I’m afraid I must force my hands and ‘borrow’ that mana core.” He then snapped his fingers. “Go attack them.”

“Aye, my prince,” the twin replied in unison. As they chanted, two direwolves appeared from each of the magic circles. The summoned beasts had a slightly larger build than normal wolves.

“Before attacking us, you should take care of those.” Kane pointed forward, their behind to be more precise.

The prince group turned their head. Many kinds of unranked monsters charged toward them. Their mouth was dripping with red fluid and innards hanging on their sharp canine teeth. They were addicted to human flesh, like most of the low-ranked monsters usually were.

“Tch!” Calypso clicked his tongue. “Go exterminate those monsters!” He then turned back again where Kane’s group was. However, they’re already gone. They had escaped by going around the edge of the wall.

“Damn it! You’ll regret this, tainted one!” he yelled at the sky.

---

The trio ran toward the rocky mountains, running on the natural dirt path in this pine forest. Kane had a bright smile on his face while the other two were… not so bright. Had they really offended a real prince, a direct descendant of the king? And why were they heading to the mountains? They wondered what was going on in Kane’s mind.

“I know he’s a jerk, but I think you shouldn’t be that hostile to him. What if the royal guards hunt you down later?” asked Zumi.

“It can’t be helped, Zumi, because I despise any haughty person like him, no matter who they are. Also, the guards won’t do something like that,” he replied.

“How can you be so sure?” she asked again.

“They have something better to do rather than beating up a kid like me,” he chuckled.

“Still, If I were you, I would’ve taken the offer, searched for other cores, and given the 5,000 gold to my family.”

“You’d give them nothing because he was lying about that money,” said Kane.

Zumi raised her eyebrow. “Really? For a prince, that amount of money is like weekly pocket money.”

“That’s true, but he wouldn’t have taken this special test then,” said Kane.

“Ah, you’re right.” Zumi switched her stare to Athera. “Are you tired yet, Thera?”

“I-I’m fine!” she replied yet her face was pale. Her breathing was starting to become irregular. Every breath she took was hot in her lungs.

“Yeah, let’s take a break. The prince should still be fighting the monsters, and we’re far from them,” said Zumi.

“I also need to rest quickly. There’s a large cave over there. I think it’s the riese’s home.” A black spot on the rocky mountain entered Kane’s vision. The previous fight had drained much of his energy, and he must be prepared for when the prince group came after them. They stopped running and rested for a while.

They stepped into the gaping hole and were greeted by a chilly breeze. Cave formations had formed around the entrance, so it was quite tricky to tread. The further into the cave, the darker it became. Fortunately, Athera knew a fire-element spell called [Floating Ember] which illuminated the path and followed the caster. It was much better than a torch.

When descending, they found several carcasses belonging to animals and monsters, took the free mana cores, and moved on. When they saw a lake that filled the bottom of the cave, they stopped walking and rested in the middle of the cave passage.

Now, they were leaning against the damp sediment wall to catch their breath. Time for a respite in this stygian hole.

A drizzle began, followed by a downpour of tiny droplets. The rainwater from outside flowed into the cave, similar to a tiny river. Kane’s usable hand blocked the stream, filling his palm with cold water. He lifted his hand and drank it quickly. Zumi and Athera too mimicked him after hesitating.

At this moment, Kane inquired, “How many points do we have, Athera?”

The elf had spilled all the contents within the pouch and almost finished counting it. “We got… 26 petty cores a-and one normal core, which means…” She moved her fingers, doing a multiplication. “128 points.”

“Wow, that was very quick. I can’t do math without writing down the numbers,” gaped Zumi. She had always disliked math since childhood.

“Thanks…” Athera whispered.

“Anyway, we have enough points to pass the test. Let’s go to the beacon once the rain stops,” said Kane. After taking a glance at the cave entrance, he shut his eyes close.

The two girls nodded at the same time. “Um, Kane?” Zumi called suddenly.

“What is it?” he replied while still closing his eyes.

Zumi creased her forehead. She paused for a moment before saying, “Back then, how did you know that the riese would scream?”

“I didn’t, but when I saw his gaping mouth, my instinct told me to cover my ears,” answered Kane.

“Instinct, huh?” Zumi uttered a sigh. “If only your instinct kicked in earlier and warned them, they would’ve still been alive,” she said in a cold tone. Hearing this, Athera bit her lower lip.

Kane opened his eyes, fixed his gaze at Zumi. “Look, you should forget about them as quickly as possible. They were just strangers and had no connection to your life whatsoever.”

“They’re also people, you know! And had the same age as us…” Her eyes welled up. “Yet you don’t feel anything toward them.”

“I…” Kane stuttered. “It’s not that I couldn’t feel emotions. I still do, but to be frank I’ve… seen scenes like that a lot of times, so I’m used to blood and deaths,” he explained. His eyes muddled, recalling his buried past.

“When have you seen murdered people before?” asked Zumi. Her voice turned down considerably.

“When I was nine years old. Don’t ask anything further.” Kane glared. A sudden eerie chill ran coursing through Zumi’s skin. She became silent.

“It-it must be… difficult for you,” said Athera.

Kane’s eyes fluttered. “Of course, but I’ve overcome it.” He then clapped his thigh, changing the topic, “Anyway, what’s the secret to feeling mana and casting a spell?”

“Based on what my teacher said, you must close your eyes and imagine blue light gathered to your mind. Then repeat the process until you’ve heard a small bang,” explained Zumi with a flat tone. She still had mixed feelings for Kane.

“That’s it?” asked him. The method was similar to training vis. The difference was he must imagine expanding energy within the body, and there was no bang.

“Yes. It will take a very long time so you must be patient…” In the middle of the explanation, Zumi realized that Kane sat cross-legged and had already begun meditating.

She heaved a long sigh and moved her bum forward so she could lie on the cave floor. “Haah… I miss home already. Don’t you think so too, Thera?”

Athera wrinkled her nose a little and curled in a fetal position. “I… I actually hate it. I hate my home.”

“Really? Living in a forest should be awesome—” Zumi halted her sentence and realized something. “Wait, you’re an elfgrant from Rabrond. Sorry about that,” she said.

“It’s fine,” Athera gestured.

“So, why’d you hate your home? Have you been arguing with your parents?” Zumi sat up, leaning forward.

“No… I think, err, my family hates me.” The elf twirled her silky hair.

“Eh? What did they hate about you?” Zumi tilted her head.

Athera paused for a moment. “L-let does not talk about it. I don’t think… you’ll understand.” She folded her lip and avoided Zumi’s eyes.

“I guess I can’t force you,” said Zumi. “You know, about two years ago, I ran away from home.”

Athera stopped looking down. “Why did you run?”

“Because I couldn’t stand living with my father. A jobless drunkard who kept wasting his days with either drinking or sleeping,” said Zumi. Her face began to convulse. “I even had to beg for money from strangers.”

“I’m sorry… for that,” said Athera.

“Well, those days are over so don’t worry.” Zumi chuckled yet her smile was forced.

Something bothered the elf’s mind so she asked, “What about your mother?”

“My mother?” Zumi sneered. “I’ve never seen her. After she gave birth to me, she threw me away in the alley. That’s when my “father” found me. Looking back at his personality, not sure how I am still alive,” she cracked a smile yet gloom took over her expression.

“Then, your father raised you, right? He’s still your father so why…”

“I did know about that. But, after I found out he had other intentions—other than becoming his source of income—I ran away.”

“His other… intentions?” asked Athera. Before she knew it, the elf had forgotten her shyness.

“He wanted to sell me to a slaver,” said Zumi without hesitation. She punched the ground hard, not caring about the pain afterward.

Athera arched her eyebrows and covered her mouth.

“So, I ran. Didn’t bring any food, money, or whatever to survive. I just ran to nowhere until I couldn’t anymore.”

“What happened next?” the elf asked, leaning toward Zumi.

“I met a nice lady who happened to walk around the street at night. She offered her hand and took me to her orphanage,” Zumi put a smile on her dark expression. “Later, I met a bunch of kids in there and became close. I then realized, they’ve become my family.”

“You must be really lucky.” Athera put the same expression.

“Yeah.” Zumi nodded. “I never ever regret my decision and I won’t go back to that damn place.”

“Maybe I… should run away too,” suggested Athera.

“No, don’t do that, Thera. I know you came from a very rich family. Just be grateful for what you have currently.” Zumi narrowed her eyebrows.

“T-that’s true… I’m sorry, Zumi. I’m really weak and spoiled…” muttered the elf. She buried her face beneath her thighs.

“That’s not true. You never complained and gave us your best,” said Zumi.

Athera became quiet so Zumi stopped talking, observed the outside, and said, “Ah, the rain stopped.” Her eyes darted to the boy in a cross-legged position. “Kane, wake up! Let’s leave this cave.” She then shook his body.

Alas, Kane showed no response. Clicking her tongue, Zumi then said, “He’s in that state already… I needed three days before I could achieve the tranquil state. Does he really have level 3 talent?”

“Someone’s coming!” said Athera, squinting at the cave entrance. She immediately took a prone position.

Zumi followed Athera’s action and asked, “Who?”

“I-it’s the prince!”