"Your Shadow Walker training has progressed very well, John. As Miss Colette told you the day you left the inn, I have seen great potential in you. I believe that with this training, you will be able to help protect this village from the evils that have recently approached it. Our enemies have encircled us from all sides. Take your skills and knowledge and wipe them all out." Daedalus told his apprentice one day.

"Thank you for your training sir. I will take the skill I learned - Piercing Strike - and defeat all of the rat-like creatures that plagued our village.

"Good! I like your train of thought. Here, take this pack of small healing potions. They will help you during battle."

John reached out and grabbed the small bag. Inside were five small bottles of blood-red liquid. This liquid must be the healing potions. Hopefully it doesn't taste like blood.... Once he saw John store the pouch in a safe place, Daedalus told the young man that he should go visit Majerio's Shop and buy the basic equipment bundle for Shadow Walkers. After accepting the task, John left the Training Hall and headed towards the shop, which was located some distance away. Upon arriving at the shop, a man greeted him with enthusiasm.

"Welcome! My name is Majerio. How may I help you?" The man greeted as he rubbed his hands.

John gazed at the man, taking note of his unusual appearance. Everything about this man was small. The man was short and skinny. He had short black hair with two white locks at the front and beady black eyes. He had a small beard and a thin mustache. The shopkeeper wore a red flamboyant shirt with skinny brown pants. Laced at his neck was a thin, golden necklace chain.

"Good day Mr. Majerio, Daedalus sent me." John curtly responded as he admired the equipment in the store.

"Please, just call me Majerio." The shopkeeper raised his hand, "You said Daedalus sent you?"

"Yes."

"I see. What path did you choose?"

"The path of the Shadow Walkers."

"Shadow Walkers eh? That's rare."

"Is it really?"

"Yea, didn't Daedalus tell you?"

"No." John shook his head.

"Of course he didn't." Majerio muttered before glancing at John, a mischievous smile played along his lips. "I'm more surprised that he was okay with your choice."

"What do you mean?"

"Daedalus is a warrior with a righteous heart. He doesn't like underhanded tricks and attacks...something that Shadow Walkers are renown for."

"Oh." John recalled seeing Daedalus frown when he had declared to the old warrior his choice of profession.

"Anyways, since you're a greenhorn, I'm guessing you can't afford any of the more expensive bundles right?"

John looked at the prices of the other bundles and paled at the sight of their prices. He nodded palely, bringing a laugh from Majerio. The shopkeeper patted him on the back and told him that there were no worries. Soon enough, he will earn enough money from killing monsters and finishing quests to pay for them. Afterwards, Majerio entered the storage room and walked out with a bundle. It was the Shadow Walker basic bundle which costs five pieces of gold. John reached for his money pouch and pulled out his entire life savings. After the transaction, Majerio showed John a booth where he can change into the new equipment.

While in the booth, John tentatively opened the bundle. There were five Tier One items. There was a rusted steel sword, an old dagger, a Glenfort shirt, a pair of Glenfort handwraps, and a pair of Glenfort pants. Both the rusted steel sword and the old dagger came with their respective sheaths. The Glenfort shirt was basically a patched, long-sleeved gray shirt coupled with a thin, leather chest armor. The Glenfort handwraps were basically thin strips of unused leather sewn together. The Glenfort pants was blue in color and provided somewhat better protection than his tattered pants. The rusted steel sword, though chipped, was sharp enough to cut through flesh and hide...same thing with the old dagger. John grimaced at the quality of his weapons...five gold coins...ten years of part-time work...all gone and all he got was such shitty equipment. Nevertheless, shitty or not, they still provided some protection and attack power - much better than what he had before. With a sigh, John quickly puts the new equipment on and walked out of the booth.

"Well, it looks very fitting!" Majerio complimented as he saw John in his new equipment.

"Thank you." John thanked the shopkeeper once more before heading back to the Training Hall.

"You've arrived just in time! As I had suspected from your descriptions weeks ago, these rat-like creatures that were invading our village were indeed an ancient race known as the Rath'een." Daedalus informed as he saw John ambling into the building in his new equipment.

"Rath'een?"

"Yea, I haven't seen them since my adventuring days long ago. I've battled many terrible creatures, but the Rath'een were something else entirely." Daedalus replied as he packed some things in a bag. "Regardless, I've just received reports that they're mounting an attack on our village soon and it's high time you put your skills to the test."

"Okay! What should I do? How should I help?"

Daedalus glanced at John and continued. "Here is the plan. I will manage our defenses outside the village, but I need you to stay here. These Rath'een bastards are diggers, and I fear that some of them might try to burrow their way up from underground and surprise us."

"Okay. I'll do my best!" John saluted.

"For now, search the village for any signs of Rath'een scum."

"Alright."

"Oh, that's right. Come to the back room. There's some final preparations that need to be done."

"What is it?" John asked as he followed his teacher to the back room.

He had trained under Daedalus for many weeks, but this was the first time he was allowed to enter the back room. As soon as he entered, he noticed a small table. On the table was a weirdly shaped bottle containing what looks to be a glowing golden fluid. A small, thin needle was placed next to the bottle. Other than those items, there were six pictures of the first hero of each path.

"What are these for?" John asked as he picked up the bottle of golden fluid. Surprisingly, the bottle was heavy.

"This is the Divine Ink. I will tattoo the sacred mark of the Shadow Walkers on your chest." Daedalus replied. "With the sacred mark, it will not only identify you as a Shadow Walker, but will also give you the benefit of seeing how much health and what level you and your opponents have. In addition, you will also see how much damage you and your opponents do as well. These blessings will help you keep track of yourself during battles so that you don't overdo yourself and die."

"Is that so? Those are some amazing blessings. Are they only for Shadow Walkers?"

"No...these blessings are the same for each path."

"Oh."

"Well, don't just stand there. Take off your shirt so I can begin the marking." Daedalus urged as he grabbed the needle and dipped it into the bottle.

Hours later....

The tattoo was completed. A flash of light shone in John's mind as a refreshing sensation surged around in his head. He blinked a few times and suddenly saw his health. He had 250 health points. His level was obviously the first level. John looked towards Daedalus and was stunned at what he saw. Both level and health points displayed ???...what does that mean?

"Why does it say ??? for your level and your health points?"

"Ah, that is because my level is insanely higher than yours. And because you can't see my level, you will naturally be unable to see my health points as well. But don't worry, as long as you keep leveling, you will one day be able to see my level." Daedalus laughed.

"I see."

"Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's go."