Zoe stared at him with open mouth. How she wanted to ask but her attention quickly went to her screen.

Her growth rate changed to average and now she had a class? Was she dreaming? How was this possible?

She closed and opened the screen multiple times. Each time, her eyes became mistier.

"True fireball," she whispered. Flame converged at her hand. She felt her body trembled and energy suck out condensed into a ball of flame. She felt weak and before she knew it, she dropped to her knee.

Regis grabbed her and supported her.

She stared up at him with eyes sparked with amazement and wonder. It worked. The spell actually worked. She really had a class now. She had what most people would be salivating to have. Something that people would murder without blinking just to have a taste of its power.

She knew that unlocking classes was a great mystery. The majority didn’t know how and the people that did, kept quiet about it. So anyone who had a class, no matter the rarity, was deemed just as important as a person with a Great growth rate. And she had that...

In less than a day, her life had changed and her future was bright.

Suddenly, lights sparkled around Regis and Zoe, shocking them both.

Bond established.

Regis could hear a voice echoed in his ears.

Decreasing all stats by 30 points.

‘What?’ Regis thought. ‘Is he hearing thing?’

Suddenly, Regis felt his body trembled as his power seemed to be suck out of him.

He groaned and fell to the ground.

Zoe seeing Regis miserable state, exclaimed, “Regis, what is wrong?”

Before she could ask or do anything else, a surge of white energy from Regis went into her. She felt the energy reinforcing every fiber of her being, making her feel stronger, lighter and tougher.

Received Regis’ Blessing.

A black emblem formed on the back of her hand. “An Emblem?” She gasped. “Regis, you are an Envoy?”

Suddenly, everything made sense. Now she understands why Regis was so strong at just level 5. He had the blessing of one of the Eidolons.

Regis body had finally stopped trembling now. He didn’t understand what Zoe was talking about, but there was a more pressing matter he needed to see. He quickly opened his screen.

His face paled. Just like the voice had said all his stats had decreased. No wonder his entire body felt weaker. He wondered what triggered this.

Regis froze. There was a new screen that wasn't there before.

Regis, Envoy of !̷̡̧̛̛̘̗̬̩̥͇͓̬̦̱̲̬̭͓̻̘͕͉̪̫̠̗͕̠̘͓̲̫̺͖̭̘͍̮̔̆͊̈́͒̀͛͒͂̊̂̃̂̈́͐̒̅̿̕͘͠~̷̨̨̨̨̨̢̧̛͎̮̮̟͉͉̜͈̣̠̩̗̮̞̼̗̳͚̤͇̻̰̜̳̻͚̺͇̣̦̳̱̣̱̗̟͇̗̪̙͕̳͖̯̲̜̉̑̔̔̔͗̑̿̄̋̓̓̂̒̈́̉̎͌͜͠ͅ*̴̢̢̢̡̪̰̫͕̜͈̳̞̹̠͍͎͙̱̮̺̫̟̝̹̩̥̦͇̙͉͕̭̬͍̞̦̜͍̓̚͜ͅ_̷̡̨̨̢̢̧̛͇̙͈̹̫͙̲̥̰̺͖̻͎̯͇̯̮̫͍̦̬̬̖̩̟͚͔̻̟̟̤͕̺̥̻͖͇͔͓̙̖̋̍̿̊̾̈̇̋͂̇͐̂̐̆͋͆̈́̒͌̎͂̍̓́́̀̄͆̏̊͐͗̚͜͜͜͝ͅͅ,̵̧̡̡̭̲̫̥̠̲̬̞͎̦̩̹̗̗̟̺̱̤͇̂̎̽̅̑̋̓̽̈́̌͘͜͝.̸̧̢̯̜͓̻̼͇͎̗͙̔̀̑͆̋̾͂̂̅̿̊̓͐̿̚͘/̸̢̛̛̪̳͕͇͍̣̣̫̋̏̾͑͋͊̐̌̈̉́͂̓̿̓̎̃̾͑̍̏̅̌̓͠͝͠?̸̨̢̢̛̛̠̘̜̙̜̖͔̰͈̜̳͓̹͔̗̮̣̬̘̞̖͎̳̗͌͊̓̉̍̈́̀̽̒̀͊̀̒͑̄̾̀̀͑̇̌́̎̒́̃͒͋̊͒̅̎́̄̔̓̂̀̅͐̊͒̕̚͝ͅͅ>̶̨͙͇͚̟̠̤̺̤̪̘̲̣̲̤̭̫̘͍̃̀̂̌͑̊̈́͛̿̀̏͌̒̏̅̆̿̍͆͋̈́̿̈́̀̑̓̐̈̏̍̇̍́͗̽͐͒̆̐̋̕̕͘̚͘̕͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅ Guardians (1/2) Name: Zoe (Average) DOA: ALIVE Level: 7 Bond: Acquaintance

Class: Fire Mage (Uncommon)

+1 Mana, -1 Phys Dmg

AP = 14 Str 0 (+30) Con 15 (+30) Int 0 (+30) Dex 10 (+30) Agi 10 (+30) Luc 0 (+30) Skills True Fireball: 1.5 Magic Damage

Passive

Regis' Blessing: +30 to all attributes Fire Affinity: 10%

Envoy? Guardian? Bond? Blessing? Regis didn’t know what they entail. And are those +30 attribute points his? The attribute points weren’t anything he couldn’t regain. Before, it would probably took him around a year time to gain those attribute points. But now it would be more difficult. He wouldn’t have the luxury of their help.

But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. How was he able to see Zoe stats and skills? Her growth rate is average? Didn’t she said it was mediocre?

“Zoe do you know why I can see your attributes and skills in my screen?” Regis asked.

“You can see my attributes and skills?” Zoe asked in amazement. ‘Is it because I’m his guardian now?’

Regis nodded.

“I’m not really sure,” Zoe said. “I'm not too clear on what a guardian does.”

“Guardian?” Regis asked. It was the same word used in his screen

“Yes,” Zoe said with her eyebrows slightly raised. “Didn’t you choose me to become your guardian in order to share the blessing?”

She thought back to how Regis handled the snake and then the troops. He was an enigma. She knew he was special but she couldn't comprehend how he was able to give her a class and make her a guardian. It must be part of the Eidolon’s blessing.

“Did I?” Regis asked not knowing what trigger it. All he did was give her a loose soul.

Zoe nodded. “I’m not sure how the process goes but I know that people with Eidolons’ blessing can share blessing with other people. The people they share the blessing with are called guardians”

“Eidolons?” Regis asked. “Who are they?”

“They are divine spirits that reside in temples and sanctuaries spread throughout the land.

“Then Eidolons aren’t humans?”

Zoe nodded.

“Are they monsters then?”

“I'm not sure. But they don’t attack or feast on humans. Not much is known about the Eidolons except that they give blessing to the people they feel are worthy. The blessing comes in many different forms. But for you, the reason why you are so strong, must be because their blessing gave you some of their power,” Zoe assumed. “In any case, receiving their blessing make you their envoy. Though I'm not sure what an envoy is supposed to do.”

“Wait a minute,” Regis said having a hard time understanding everything. “My strength comes from a blessing of an Eidolon?”

“Yes,” Zoe thought how else would she get this emblem? Zoe brought her hand up. There was a black sword surrounded by wings imprinted on the back of her hand.

“This emblem means you shared your blessing with me. And you can see it in your screen too right? That I’m listed as your guardian?”

Regis felt a headache. He didn’t remember getting bless by any spirit. He got his current strength through his own effort. He lost count of how many souls he had to absorb, how many days he had to suffer in agony to get this strong. But… if anything was given to him, it should be his eyes and his assimilation. But then again, they weren’t given to him, rather they were…

Regis shook his head. Was Zoe wrong then? But it was just like she said his screen did list her as his guardian. He even had the envoy title next to his name. Maybe he did receive an Eidolon blessing in the past? Did he just forget?

“What Eidolon did you receive your blessing from?” Zoe said interrupting Regis train of thoughts.

“I don't know,” Regis said. “I can't read it.” All he could see was weird symbols.

Zoe wondered why Regis needed to read the name. Didn’t the Eidolon give Regis its name before blessing him? Unless… he was trying to hide it. She stopped thinking about it and looked at her screen. Regis’ blessing, plus 30 points for every attribute… that was just absurd. She suddenly had six times the attribute points she had before. Was the blessing for all guardians like this?

“What about you? Can you see my screen?” Regis asked abruptly.

“No,” Zoe said shaking her head.

With everything happening so suddenly, Zoe realized there was something she needed to say.

“Thank you,” Zoe said, realizing. “Thank you for sharing your blessing with me.”

He wanted to say he didn’t choose to share it with her. But he held back his words. There was no point in saying that now. But if he had a choice, he wouldn’t have given up his attribute points. He had suffered so much for them. He didn’t understand how this could happen. At this point, he wasn't sure of anything. He could only nod his head in response and go along with what she said.

“When you helped save my brother, Zoe said staring appreciatively at Regis, “I didn’t even have the time to thank you and now you even gift me this... I don't know how I can make it up to you.”

Suddenly, a group of children barged in. We found who told the soldiers about Alan’s rifle. The group of children pulled along the fat boy with the pan on his head.

“I’m sorry Zoe,” Carlos said. “I accidentally let it slipped and the soldiers overheard me. Believe me. I never meant for Alan to get hurt or let them know. Really, honestly, I didn’t know they would act in such a way.”

Zoe felt shock at first. Thinking that she herself had forgotten to question why the soldiers would know about Alan’s rifle when they had hid it so well. To think the perpetrator was Carlos, a person who Alan and she had helped made her livid.

But looking at the despaired sobbing face of Carlos, the pain and anger of seeing Alan beaten, subsided. Knowing Carlos’ personality, Zoe understood the boy wasn’t the type to backstab people.

She patted the boy on the head.

The boy’s tears burst out even more. “I’m sorry.”

The other children stood their silently staring at Carlos with mix emotions.

“I know. You aren’t the type to do that,” Zoe said then turned to the children.

“What happen to the soldier bodies?”

“We dug a hole and buried them,” they said with eyes that seemed a bit listless.

Seeing their faces, Zoe felt pain. She quickly asked, “Why did the soldiers come for?”

“They wanted to collect the harvest for this month. Like always. But when we asked why they weren’t leaving. The soldiers said we needed to send a few people back with them for another scouting task. But since you weren’t here. They said they would wait for you. We thought it was weird that they would wait. But it turned out they were aiming for Alan’s rifle.”

Zoe nodded her head. “Did they say what kind of scouting it is?”

“We’re not sure,” the children responded.

“How long had they been here?” Zoe asked.

“For three days.”

Zoe frowned. That meant she was supposed to follow them back three days ago. Would the Alliance blow up the village for them being late? Then again, if the Alliance learned about what happened today then their small village would be destroyed without a second thought. But, they wouldn’t be able to predict that a village full of children would have the strength to kill nine soldiers. As long as…

She broke her train of thoughts and said, “You mustn’t tell anyone of what happened here today.”

The children all look at Zoe then at Regis.

They gave Regis a deep look before saying. “We won’t!”

As Zoe went outside to get something, the children turned their attention to Regis.

Suddenly, one of them ran up to him and said, “Thank you!”

Regis gave the boy who looked the same age as him a confused look.

“It was shocking,” the boy said, “to see how you easily killed them all. We couldn’t believe how strong you were. They weren’t just any ordinary grownups and yet you managed to make it look so easy. At that time, we didn’t have the chance to say it, but thank you”

‘They weren’t afraid of him?’ Regis thought. Then again, it made sense. He did help them and they were still in the dark about himself. He wondered if they would still look at him with the same reverence if he revealed everything about himself.

“That is right,” a girl said. “My parents were killed by them and You helped me avenge them.”

The children continued showing Regis their appreciation and asking him how they could become strong like him.

“Zoe what are you doing with that old motorcycle?” one of the children asked noticing Zoe was back pulling along an old rusty motorcycle.

Regis eyes brightened looking at the mechanical bike at Zoe side.

“I’m going to head to the rendezvous,” Zoe said with a serious look.

“But you just got back,” the children exclaimed.

“Yes, but we were supposed to meet them three days ago.” Zoe said. “Don’t you remember what happened when Robert’s village didn’t heed their order? They sent a tank in the middle of the night to blow the entire village up.”

The children looked at Zoe with mixed emotions.

“It will be fine,” Zoe said. “It’s just another scouting mission. I’m sure, I’ll be just checking out a ruined city. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Carlos who had been quiet this entire time said, “But they said we needed to send a few able bodies. You can’t go alone.”

“Yeah. Let’s us come with you.”

“No!” Zoe said vehemently. “I need you to take care of Alan for me. I have means to skirt that requirement.”

“At least take me with you,” Carlos said with a guilty expression, “I made Alan like this I should help out.”

“No,” Zoe said. “We need you to defend the village. You are the strongest one here beside Alan.”

Zoe touched the boy head.

“I know what you’re feeling,” Zoe said. “But you mustn’t dwell in it.”

After comforting Carlos, Zoe moved her eyes through the crowd of children looking for the boy in black. Her eyes widened. Where did Regis go?

“When are we leaving?” A voice coming from Zoe backside jolted her.

“Regis!” Zoe said in shock as she turned to see Regis on the rusty motorcycle backseat. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see? I’m coming with you.”

“But you have already done enough for me. You don’t need to do any more for me-“

“I’m not doing this for you,” Regis replied. “There are things I want to know and see. That is why I want to come along.”

Seeing that she wasn’t able to convince him, she nodded her head. In her heart, she felt quite relief but she knew she shouldn’t rely on him. She clenched her fist.

The children bid Zoe and Regis farewell and watched as they drove off into the distance.

It had been a while now since they left the village. Regis looked toward the bright moon which lighted up the dark cool desert night while feeling the wind brushing at his face. Riding on a motorcycle felt even more amazing than he had imagined. All those years, living under them while being imprisoned in the white room…He really was free now wasn’t he? Today, felt like a dream for him. Seeing the desert sand, clear blue sky and blazing hot sun… sights that he had only seen through the monitor screen. Today, he was able to experience them firsthand.

The only commonplace incident was killing those soldiers. Otherwise, everything else had been a new experience for him.

He should have done this sooner. He wanted to see how different the world was compared to the world shown in the 2018 magazines. It should be around 100 years since the magazines were made.

The world should be entirely different. But still he wanted to see the world that he had only known in pictures. In that white room, it was his only solace.

Before he knew it, he had drifted into deep sleep embracing Zoe’s back.

----------

Regis current stats

Lvl 5

Phys Dmg: 2.02 Defense: 1.58 Mana: 2.38 Control/Acc: 1.82 Speed: 2.1 Crit: 3.5 Str: 101 Con: 79 Int 119 Dex: 91 Agi: 105 Luc: 175

Zoe lvl 7

Phys Dmg: 0.0 Defense: 0.9 Mana: 1.6 Control/Acc: 0.8 Speed: 0.8 Crit: 0.6