Two days prior.

Felix laid restless in a small room. He jostled around, trying to get more comfortable, as the only thing that separated himself from the floor was an overused knapsack. It wasn’t the most luxurious of accommodations, but Felix was used to worse. He looked around the room, scanning over the faces he’d grown so accustomed to.

Felix had lost his family to one of the many demon raids, just like the other kids in the room. All of them shared a bond and considered themselves a family. Even the adults who ran their small, underfunded orphanage had lost loved ones to demons. They’d pooled their meager funds together to create this place: a home for anyone who’d lost their parents in one of the raids.

It wasn’t until the rise of The Hunters Guild that the demon raids became increasingly infrequent. To Felix, they were the epitome of justice. Not only had The Hunters Guild protected their shores at home, they’d launched the first frontal assault on the demon capital, burning much of it down in the process. Furthermore, the assault was reported to have been conducted by a single member of the guild: their Guildmaster, Slayer.

Currently, Felix was a bronze rank adventurer, the lowest level possible. The next two ranks, silver, and gold could only be attained by completing enough quests relative to his current rank. Gaining the status of gold adventurer would allow him to join a guild, but Felix had higher ambitions. He’d gained a meager source of money for the orphanage through a few quests here and there, but he wanted to do much, much more.

The subsequent ranks of an adventurer were acquired through more difficult means, but he’d already made up his mind. The Tower existed as a place to test adventurers, allowing them to earn two more ranks: Diamond and Obsidian. The diamond rank could be acquired by clearing a portion of The Tower, while obsidian was obtained through conquering the entire thing. Felix, being confident or naive, had firmly decided on the latter. Not only would he be able to take the most challenging of quests, and feed his family well, he’d gain a status fit for the guild he respected so wholeheartedly.

However, there were two additional ranks of adventurer: platinum and titled. A gold adventurer can be given the rank of platinum only if their guild feels as though they’ve done something worth the respect of their fellow adventurers. Typically, this was to be above and beyond the requirements of normal procedure. To keep this rank credible, each guild could only give out one platinum rank per year.

On the other hand, the rank of titled adventurer could only be given by the King and Queen. If the people believed an adventurer had gone above and beyond in protecting the kingdom, the King and Queen could give them the rank of titled adventurer, along with a proper title to match their dead. In the case of Slayer, he’d burned down the demon capital, killing many demons, and even a demon lord, in the process.

In fact, Slayer was the only person to be given a title in the last twelve years. Furthermore, Slayer was said to have a humble uprising. Without joining a guild, without clearing The Tower, a bronze adventurer who’d lost their family to a particularly devastating demon raid was given a title.

In his own way, Felix would try to do the same. Anyone was allowed to take the trials of The Tower, even a bronze adventurer. He envisioned making a name for himself in this way. If Felix could become the first adventurer to climb from bronze straight to obsidian, he figured he would be ever so close to joining The Hunter’s Guild. Just the idea of it excited him, ultimately leading to his current restlessness.

Tomorrow was Initiation Day, the single day each year that people could gather in the capital to enter The Tower, and this year Felix would be joining them. He planned to set out as soon as possible, already having informed Nancy, one of the younger caretakers who ran the orphanage. Felix didn’t like goodbyes, deciding only to tell his best friend of his plans.

Subtle dots of light began to scatter across the floor, cast from small holes in the ceiling. Felix got up from the floor, glad the sun had finally risen. Walking quietly towards the door, Felix made his way around the various bodies that blocked his path. He managed to tiptoe his way around them easily, as it was something he was accustomed to doing. Felix turned his head after he reached the door, giving everyone there one last glance. They may have been a pain, at times, but Felix was certain to miss every single one of them. His gaze shifted to the opposite corner of the room, where his friend Norman was leaned up against the wall.

Norman had a surprisingly refined complexion for one of their own, something Felix would tease him about. His hair was a messy blue, and Felix refrained from laughing when looking at it. He’d gotten some free hair dye as part of his last quest reward, and had applied it a few nights before. Norman was furious, but Felix felt it was a proper farewell present. This way, Norman would have something to remember him by.

Felix turned back to the door. He opened it slowly to make as little noise as possible. Felix slipped through the small opening, swiftly closing the door behind him. Birds chirping in the distance, Felix rubbed his eyes as he looked into the morning sky. He was typically up early enough to see the sunrise, but today’s was particularly magnificent. The sun rose above the open plains before him, casting various shades of orange across the sky.

Felix loved the color orange, making this particular time of day special to him. It reminded him of how things used to be... how things could be.

Nothing obstructed his view of the rising sun, as the old farmhouse the orphanage used for shelter had dried up long ago. They’d tried to plant a variety of seeds in the soil, but it had proven a losing battle.

The farmhouse laid at the southern corner of Grendin, a rather desolate town inhabited primarily by families who’d lived there for generations. However, as the years passed, the town’s population continued to dwindle. Felix knew the Grendin's lack of a railroad was what left it so deserted, and he was determined to make changes the moment he had the funds.

“Sneaking out already?” A female voice loudly asked.

“AH!” Felix exclaimed quietly, “SHH!”

“Oh,” the voice said softly, “sorry, Felix.”

Felix looked over to his right. The girl who had potentially sabotaged his stealthy departure was none other than Nancy, one of the orphanage’s caretakers. She was only a few years older than Felix, and they got along fairly well. Nancy was a few meters away, having just walked out of the main house. Felix could tell she’d been waiting for him, as she seemed to have something wrapped in her hands

“Alright,” Felix sighed, walking towards her, “what’s that?”

“It’s a surprise,” Nancy said, taking a couple steps towards him.

“It is?” Felix asked.

Felix assumed it was some kind of food. Nance was always good about keeping everyone fed, even if the servings were meager. Felix stood in front of Nancy, taking the gift from her hands. To his surprise, what Felix unwrapped was three pieces of his favorite delicacy: pumpkin bread.

“Where’d you get this?” Felix asked, bewildered.

“Well, I know it’s one of your favorites,” Nancy said, pleased by his reaction, “so I went out to Hinsdale and bought some for you.”

Typically, Felix and the rest would eat potatoes, beans, carrots, or a mix of the three. All were relatively cheap, with a long shelf life. Times were tough, and it was hard for him to justify spending the small amount he could earn as an adventurer on something so luxurious. However, pumpkin bread was one of his favorite foods. It was something he used to eat often. Norman was the only person who he’d ever told, and his eyes began to water as he thought about how long he may be away from his new family.

“Thank you, Nancy,” Felix said, wrapping the bread up before rubbing his eyes.

“You deserve it,” Nancy said. “We appreciate you staying here for so long. I don’t know how we would have handled all the little ones without your help.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Felix replied, scratching the back of his head and looking away, “I was in it for the world-class stew anyway.”

“Alright,” Nancy laughed, “when do you think you’ll be back?”

“I’d hope by the end of the year, but we’ll see.” Felix replied, trying to be modest, “Once I become an obsidian adventurer, I’ll be able to do real quests, and we can move out of this sh-”

“Ah,” Nancy said, raising a finger, “what did I say about being negative?”

“I know, I know,” Felix repeated, “there are people who have it worse than us and all that.”

“I’m serious.” Nancy said, “the demons who did this only win when we refuse to persevere. Part of that is being optimistic, and showing the other kids that their life isn’t so bad. We can achieve anything that we work hard enough for.”

“Yeah, I know,” Felix said, looking down.

“After all, I can’t imagine they’ll be pessimistic about their future when they see their big brother become an obsidian adventurer.”

“Of course!” Felix replied, looking back up at Nancy with a reinvigorated resolve.

“Now get out there and make us proud!”

Felix nodded, taking a step forward to hug Nancy. She’d been there for him in his hardest times, and he’d never forget that.

“Felix!” One of the kids yelled out.

It seemed he hadn’t made as quiet of an exit as he’d hoped, as all the kids he had just seen asleep began to rush out of their room. They collected themselves around Felix and Nancy, joining in on the hug. The last person to walk over was Felix’s blue-haired best friend.

“You told them all, didn’t you?” Felix said, squinting his eyes at Norman.

“Someone had to.” Norman shrugged, “You can’t just tell me you're leaving and not expect a proper send-off.”

Bending over the smaller kids, Norman joined in on the hug. He may have not become an adventurer as quickly as Felix, but Norman always had Felix’s respect. They’d spent countless nights dreaming up ideas for each of their title names and arguing over which guild was the coolest. Out of everyone there, Felix would miss him the most.

“Don’t you try to outpace me too fast,” Norman said, pulling away, “it won’t be too long before I come up with my killer technique! Then we’ll see who becomes an obsidian adventurer first.”

“I’m gonna miss you guys,” Felix said, looking around, “all of you.”

“Aw,” Norman replied, taking another step back, “that’s touching. We’ll miss you too.”

Norman averted his gaze, a subtle smirk appearing on his face. Felix looked around to see the little ones holding back laughter. He turned back to Nancy, but she seemed unfazed, and simply smiled back at him.

“What?” Cole asked.

“Well,” Norman said, “I kind of told Nancy to let us know when you were leaving so we could give you this little send-off.”

“Ok,” Felix said, remembering Nancy’s loud introduction so early in the morning.

“And I told her to get you something special.”

“Yeah?”

“Well,” Norman said, “I decided to give you a little present of my own. Something you can remember us by.”

“Alright,” Felix said, still confused, “what is it?”

As he asked, the kids began to laugh even louder, and Norman’s smirk turned into a full blown, cheek to cheek smile. Even Nancy was having trouble containing herself, putting her hand over her mouth.

“Ok, come on,” Felix said, rolling his eyes, “what is it.”

Norman continued to back up. The kids were too busy enjoying the moment to answer, so Felix turned to Nancy. She slowly removed her hand from her mouth to reveal a restrained smile. Nancy then pointed above him, seemingly at his hair.

“No way,” Felix said.

He reached up to his head, plucking a hair from his brow. Bringing it close to his eyes, he noticed it wasn’t at all what it used to be. Instead of his normal hair color, it was bright orange. Felix quickly turned around, catching a glimpse of Norman as he ran away.

“I hear dyed hair is all the rage with adventurers these days,” Norman choked back his laughter as he ran, “I’m sure you’ll fit right in with everyone. Good luck!”

“NORMAN!” Felix yelled, half annoyed, half impressed.

He’d been wondering why Norman had remained so quiet the night before. Felix dying Norman’s hair was one of his best pranks, and Norman had somehow found a way to improve upon it.

“Where’d he even get-” Felix thought out loud, swiftly turning to Nancy.

She dodged his gaze, averting her eyes to the morning sky.

“I guess pumpkin bread wasn’t the only thing you got from Hinsdale,” Felix remarked.

Nancy shrugged, trying her best to conceal her grin. Still surrounding Felix, the kids had begun to settle down. They all looked up at him as if waiting for him to say something.

“What’s pumpkin bread?” One of them asked, having overheard Felix and Nancy.

“What’s pumpkin bread?” Felix pretended to act surprised, “you’ll have to find out for yourself!”

Felix displayed the wrapped cloth around the group, slowly unwrapping to reveal the flakey bread. The kids seemed enamored by it, as they had grown to know only of the food the orphanage made. Most of them had been there even longer than Felix, some arriving as mere babies. No matter how selfish Felix thought of being, he always caved to their demands.

“Who wants some pumpkin bread?” Felix asked.

“Me.”

“MEEE.”

“I do.”

The kids yelled out in chorus. Nancy watched as Felix began to evenly distribute her gift among the children. Her face was unsurprised, but it seemed as though she wished Felix would take care of himself more often. He’d be going on a long and treacherous journey, after all.

“I love it!”

“Yum!”

Felix handed the last bit of his pumpkin bread to the final outstretched hand. The child looked at it, then back at Felix’s empty cloth.

“What about you and Nancy?” She asked.

“Don’t worry about us,” Felix said, scruffing up her short hair, “there’ll be plenty of pumpkin bread for everyone when I get back.”

“YAY!” The kids yelled.

The younger kids began to chant “pumpkin bread” together as they ran around. This was the first time they’d all had such a tasty treat, so Felix wasn’t surprised.

Even as he watched the younger kids celebrate, Felix couldn’t help but feel the stares of the older kids piercing through him. They’d come to know Felix and Norman as the older brothers they could rely upon. Unlike the younger kids, they understood just how long Felix would be away. Even if he viewed it as a small probability, there was a chance he could never return at all.

“Don’t worry.” Felix said, turning his attention to them, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Promise?” The girl who’d spoken before asked.

“Promise,” Felix replied, scruffing her hair again before pulling back his arm.

“You better get going,” Nancy said. “It’d be best if you caught the first train out of Hinsdale.”

“Yeah.” Felix said, giving everyone one last glance, “You’ll take care of them until I get back, won’t you Nancy?”

“Of course,” Nancy replied, “I’ll always do my best.”

Felix nodded his head. Having said his final goodbyes, he looked over his belongings. It usually took two days to walk to Hinsdale, but that was taking the beaten trail. Given his knowledge of the area, Felix usually took less than half that time. Even if he took a little detour on the way, he should still have time to make it in time for the first train. With this in mind, Felix set out for Hinsdale.