“Who are you?” Alain shouted at the approaching figure. His logical mind already deducted that this person probably belonged to The Sanctuary, the cradle that has been his home for the last few years. And yet, this mysterious person who was powerful enough to decapitate the head of a giant from such a distance mentioned Alain’s identity so casually that it unnerved the fledgling Giantslayer. Alain instinctually raised his sword in caution, preparing for an attack.

“Oh? Do you think you can win?” The mysterious person said with a melodic tone of voice. The person finally walked forward out of the shadows, enough to show his figure in its full glory to Alain. Alain gasped, what he saw was surprising, to say the least.

It was clear that the mysterious person was a Giantslayer, indicated by the thin longsword he was carrying. But his garments were peculiar, he wore a flowy black robe that seemed to have belonged to one of the local theaters, the fabric was fashionably designed to look pleasing to the eyes and offered no real protection. And his face, well, there was none. Alain could see a tall, seemingly lean person, but his face was hidden under what could only be called a helmet. The front of the helmet that faced Alain was mostly a black visor made out of glass that obstructed a clear view of the face beneath. The helmet’s sides and back were all matching colors with the robe. The mysterious person wearing the helmet tilted his head looking at Alain.

“Answer my question!” Alain shouted. If he was only merely cautious before, now he was fully suspicious of this person.

“Hey hey,” The person took something out of his pocket, it looked like a small emblem. “Look, know what this is?” He said.

Alain squinted his eyes to see the emblem and recognized it right away. “A Shield?” He muttered. What he saw was a circle-shaped emblem dyed red with a blue shield in the middle.

The Sanctuary’s Shield, one of the most influential factions in the settlement. Giantslayers were mercenaries who fight monsters for their own financial gains, and while many show loyalty for their homeland, some might not risk their lives for it.

The Public Order Bureau (P.O.B), on the other hand, were non-nectar enhanced individuals who mitigate and mediate disputes and crimes committed inside The Sanctuary by humans. Giantslayers were trained purely to fight giants while the best officers of the P.O.B can easily defeat Giantslayers if they don’t drink nectars as they are specially trained in hand-to-hand combat.

The elite soldiers of The Sanctuary’s shield, in contrast, were trained to massacre giants and kill humans if necessary. They are adept in both giant-slaying and human martial arts. They were not mercenaries, but rather an elite force loyal to The Sanctuary and their only goal was to ensure the complete security of The Sanctuary. The Shields rarely join hunts unless the giants prove to be too dangerous, and they often protect The Sanctuary from attacks from outside human forces.

But Alain had seen Shields before, and they did not wear helmets like this mysterious person before him. And they certainly did not wear that gaudy black robe. He could still be a criminal posing as a Shield, Alain thought, so he kept his guard up.

“You’re still cautious after knowing what I am?” The person tilted his head. “Good. Always be skeptical. Never trust anyone,” He said amused.

“What is a Shield doing here? If that’s really what you are that is. And how did you know who I am?” Alain said. He had put up a tough front but he knew he would be slaughtered if they truly fought, knowing what happened with the headless Valang behind him.

“Are you really asking a Shield why he’s out here protecting The Sanctuary?” The person chuckled. “As for how I knew you—oh?” The helmeted person suddenly seemed as if he was looking beyond Alain. Giant footsteps that were agonizingly slow approached them.

Snow made his way towards Alain. His injuries were quite severe as the giant Kashik painfully walked forward. His pure white fur was now dyed red, and he was almost out of breath.

“Oh? Another one.” The mysterious person readied his thin longsword again to attack.

“Wait, don’t kill him! I can explain!” Alain opened his eyes wide from Snow’s arrival, and opened it even wider after seeing that the extremely powerful person in front of him was about to attack.

“You’re protecting that Giant? Then you are a traitor to The Sanctuary,” The helmeted person disappeared from view after saying those words.

“Wha—” Alain’s surprise was cut short as he sensed a presence directly in front of him. He raised his sword-ax and a clash of two swords rang out, one bone the other one metal. Alain’s block did not last long as a powerful kick came towards him and sent him flying backward tumbling through the ground repeatedly. The kick had flung him quite a distance.

Snow meowed in anger, but he collapsed the next second, too tired and injured to carry on. The Kashik was now unconscious. As Alain was picking himself back up, he noticed something bad.

My nectar energy is almost gone! He thought as his mind raced. He reached for his satchel and grabbed another vial to drink. Suddenly, the vial in his hand broke into tiny pieces, spilling all its content into the soil below.

“Do you think a human opponent would let you refill nectar?” The person said and disappeared and reappeared again next to Alain. He kicked the Giantslayer with powerful force backward again. This time, Alain was separated from his sword-ax and he was flung too far to reach it now.

Shit! My sword-ax! Alain shouted in his head. He reached for his dagger and assumed a battle position, or what he thought was a battle stance as he had no real experience fighting a human opponent.

“Good,” The black-robed person said. Surprisingly, he also threw away his longsword to the ground. He reached for his side and unsheathed a smaller rapier. “These oversized weapons were designed to fight giants, not humans. You could probably kill humans or untrained Giantslayers with these, but to stand a chance against humans specially trained to kill other humans, you need proportionally-sized weapons. These designs are closer to what our ancestors would wield before The Final Curse befell us. Before we considered these beasts giants,” He said while looking at the unconscious Kashik and caressing his rapier.

Alain was utterly confused about why he would choose to explain these things in the midst of battle, especially since he was so intent on killing Alain.

“I can explain everything! Let’s just stop this.” Alain said.

The mysterious person disappeared and reappeared again in front of Alain. “You shouldn’t talk in battle!” He swung his rapier towards Alain.

Didn’t you just do the same thing!? Alain screamed in his mind. The Giantslayer brought the dagger in front of him to block. However, the fight ended not long after that. Alain seemed as if he could parry some of the rapier’s attacks but after a while, the mysterious person increased his speed into a dizzying pace. He kicked and nudged Alain with the Rapier for every mistake he made. And for the final attack, the mysterious person knocked Alain’s head with the hilt of the Rapier, making him fall into the ground. It was not a normal hit, Alain could feel intense pain on his temple.

“Please,” Alain said weakly. “Don’t kill the Kashik.”

The mysterious person laughed. “I wasn’t going to.” He said.

What? Alain’s mind raced for answers.

“I was just playing with you to see your skills. You fought the Valang perfectly, but I guess you never truly fought another human being before. Not any skilled, nectar-enhanced ones at least,” He said and chuckled.

You gotta be kidding me! Alain thought as his consciousness started to slip away.

“I already know about your circumstances. We followed you and watched your movements ever since you first step foot outside of The Sanctuary two days ago.”

That long ago? How? How did I not notice anything? Alain thought.

“And you’re right to be suspicious. I’m not a Shield, that was just an emblem I show people for security reasons. This is who I am. Rest assured, we mean you no harm.” The mysterious person showed Alain another emblem.

A sword? Alain thought as he saw the emblem. This time, it was a diamond-shaped emblem dyed black with a white sword in the middle.

“Our existence is a Sanctuary secret and we only wear these helmets when we’re on missions,” The helmeted person brought an open palm into where his mouth would be. “Ah, oops. I guess I shouldn’t tell you any more than that. But what I can say is that we’re interested in you, we very rarely recruit people you know. You’re even more special than Shield candidates!” He laughed.

“W-what…” Alain muttered, darkness starting to overwhelm him.

“And I’m sure you’re curious about those blue crystals too, ain’t you?”

Alain’s eyes opened again momentarily before fatigue enveloped him again.

“Ah, and we’ll take care of that Kashik’s injuries so don’t worry. The next time you wake up will be inside The Sanctuary. We’ll be in contact with you soon, so long!” The person waved goodbye to Alain who finally closed his eyes and let the sweet embrace of sleep take over.

Alain jolted awake. He did not feel as if time had passed. It was as if he just closed his eyes momentarily ago. He looked around the environment to see he was inside his old bedroom in Rostav’s house. He turned his head to the side and Renald was there, sitting on a stool and looking at him in worry.

“How did I get here?” Alain asked confused.

“Some P.O.Bs came by carrying you and your equipment, they said they found you unconscious next to a tavern with smells of alcohol on your body. They thought you got drunk and passed out.” Renald answered.

“How did they know my address?” Alain said.

Renald’s eyes widened. “That’s…”

That sword emblem...Alain wondered in his mind as he recalled what he experienced.

“Rostav?” Alain asked.

“Still outside.”

“Marika?"

“Asleep.”

“And Snow?”

“He’s alive!” Renald’s face light up like a firework. “He said the last thing he remembered was him stumbling towards you weakly. After he woke up, all his injuries were bandaged by someone! Please, tell me what happened!” He said excitedly.

“It wasn’t me. It was whoever brought me here.” Alain said, gritting his teeth. While he was thankful for a lot of things, he weirdly felt angry at the display of power that the mysterious person showed. He felt powerless, unable to fight back. And it was against another human, not a giant, which brought up unpleasant memories in his head.

Alain’s fists were shaking furiously. A certain figure from his past re-emerged in his mind again after being dormant for a long time. It was someone who had caused his mother and younger brother great pain and suffering when he was growing up. Someone who Alain could not fight back against no matter how hard he tried.

“Father,” Alain blurted out with such ferocity that his brown skin visibly turned red.

“What? Alain? Are you okay?” Renald touched Alain’s shoulder in worry.

Alain looked at Renald’s face that resembled his younger brother and his eyes grew softer. He looked closely again at the boy. Renald's black hair was quite long for a boy, and his blue eyes and pale skin made him look vulnerable and weak, but his gaze showed otherwise.

“I’m alright. Anyway, what time is it?”Alain shook his head and said.

“It’s already night,” Renald scratched the back of his head. “Alain...Thank you for saving Snow. I’m not going to ask you about what happened if you don’t want to say anything, the most important thing is that both of you are safe.” He flashed a warm smile.

Alain waved his hand in front of his face. “It’s all good. I promised you,”

“But Alain,”

“Yes?”

“Teach me how to be a Giantslayer!” Renald pumped his fist. “I have decided. If I am going to venture out there with Snow, then I need to be able to protect him. You’re right, I’m not capable enough to leave The Sanctuary yet. I need to become strong first.” He said.

Alain tilted his head. “Well, that’s going to be tough since you haven’t done your nectar initiation yet.”

“Then let’s do it!”

“We can’t,” Alain shook his head. “We can’t do it without the guild's or The Academy's supervision. If we’re lucky and you succeed, then no one will notice. But if your body rejects pure nectar, then you will scream so loud and emit so much force that the P.O.Bs will be called and we’ll both be arrested," He explained.

“Then let’s go get their permission!” Renald insisted.

“We could, but minors like you need your parents’ approval,” Alain replied.

“Ah,” Renald suddenly went stone-faced. The mention of his parents drastically changed his mood in just a second.

Alain frowned. He admired Renald’s desire to get stronger, it was something he could always relate to in a person, especially if it was from a desire to protect someone else.

But it’s true that this boy needs to at least be a Giantslayer if he really intends to go on adventures outside as he said. Alain thought.

“We can think about the logistics tomorrow. How about I tell you more about our profession now so you know what you're getting yourself into. What do you know about us so far?” Alain asked.

“Hmm.” Renald looked up towards the ceiling to think, “I just know Giantslayers are all strong people after drinking nectars and they all use different weapons. They all go out there and hunt giants. I guess I only know the basics since I didn’t have a lot of free time.” He chuckled.

Alain followed and chuckled as well.

“Did you just laugh!?” Renald’s mouth opened as he saw Alain's smile.

Alain frowned and erased his smirk. “Well, you’re right about those things. Our weapon selection is mostly based on our preference but there is something else that determines it,” He said.

“And what is that?” Renald tilted his head and his eye was completely focused now.

“Specializations.” Alain raised four fingers. “There are four specializations: a Brute is what you call Giantslayers that focus on their strength, a Speedster focuses on dexterity and speed, a Perceiver focuses on the senses, and a Mindmaster focuses on their mental capacity.” He explained.

“Wait, so you would know right away after doing the nectar initiation which one you are? I didn’t know this!” Renald’s eyes went wide.

Alain shook his head. “No, you got it wrong. All fledgling Giantslayers start out with enhanced strength, dexterity, senses, and mental capacity. You will need years of combat training and rigorous regimes to control your nectar consumption before you can specialize. Specializing in one area will make you extremely adept at that one skill, way more so than normal Giantslayers.” He explained.

Renald hit his fist with his other palm to indicate that he understood.

That bastard who knocked me out was probably a Speedster. Alain remembered the ludicrous speed that the mysterious person wearing the helmet had before knocking him out.

“So how do you determine if a Giantslayer is ready to specialize?” Renald asked.

“You’re asking the right question.” Alain nodded. “There are four levels: a first-level Giantslayer burn through nectar vials very quickly and one vial will only last them one battle; a second-level Giantslayer has more battle experience and they have learned how to absorb nectar energy more efficiently, one vial can last them multiple battles with giants; a third-level Giantslayer can train to specialize in one area as I said before and; a fourth-level Giantslayer has a dual specialization, they can specialize in two areas,” He explained.

Renald’s eyes light up. “A fourth-level Giantslayer sounds so cool! Do you know anyone like that?” He asked.

“Yes, Guru Bram from The Academy. He helped me with my practical exam a few days ago. He’s a Speedster and Perceiver. He’s special, fourth-level Giantslayers are very rare,” Alain said.

“What about fifth-level Giantslayers and beyond? Three specializations? Or even all of them?” Renald asked.

Alain shook his head. “I’ve never heard anyone going beyond the fourth-level. They’re only figures from the legends perhaps.” He replied.

“I see, I guess I’ll be the first then,” Renald smiled.

“I like your confidence,” Alain snickered.

“What about you? Which level are you now? And which area are you planning to specialize in?”

“Well,” Alain scratched his head. “I’m only a first-level since I’m still a student at The Academy and I haven’t had that many real battles experience yet. Since I use a giant sword-ax, I’m planning to be a Brute specializing in strength. An archer would usually become a Perceiver to be able to obtain ridiculous precision in their aiming,” He said.

“Anyway, I think it’s time we sleep now. My body is still aching.” Alain said again.

“Ah, okay. But you promise to find me a way to get the nectar initiation test tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. Tomorrow.” Alain forced himself to get out of bed and walked towards the door. “You sleep here since this was supposed to be your room. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He said.

“But you're injured! You should sleep here on the bed!” Renald interjected.

Alain didn’t even bother to reply as he already closed the door behind him. Renald was speechless and sighed. He tidied up the bed and laid down. While looking at the ceiling, he raised a fist and a wave of determination could be seen on his eyes. That night, Renald did not get much sleep as he reflected on everything in his life.